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For N.F.L. Retirees, Opioids Bring More Pain A brutal game got them hooked on painkillers. In retirement, they battle addiction. The opioid crisis courses through football... Like hundreds of former N.F.L. players, Campbell, Gibson and Grimes said they never took painkillers in college, or at any time before they entered the league. Yet as professionals, they regularly used the pills to continue playing, and even in retirement, their pill-popping habits persisted, sending them on haunting, shattering journeys into opioid addiction. It has taken years of struggle, money and anguish in order to heal. |
I spent the last two days at the annual meeting of the New York Society of Addiction Medicine.Speakers included representatives of the governor's office and some of the most accomplished doctors in research and treatment of substance abuse.
Take aways from the meeting include
with the democrats in control of the state the train has left the station for legalization of marijuana
anyone who wants marijuana can get it now
arresting people for doing nothing other than smoking pot accomplishes little
the state will have billions more (to waste)
although many states allow " medical marijuana" it has not been shown to be a good treatment for pain. It's proven effectiveness is limited to a small percentage of people with epilepsy, intractable nausea, and treatment of spasticity caused by multiple sclerosis.
Concerns include
In Colorado marketing was clearly geared to children and adolescents ( like camel cigarettes)
When taken by people less that twenty five (and certainly by teenagers and children) it impairs development of the brain and leads to mental illness.
The legal sale and marketing has been dominated by people from the tobacco companies and people involved with development and sale of oxycontin
auto accidents have increased
Just like alcohol many people use it responsibly. We can expect that 10-15% of users will be problem users in terms of its affect on family, finance, work and use of other substances.