Some patients add to opioid problem
I think it would be great if drug manufacturers and distributors provided resources to fight opioid-abuse problems. It also would be great if the street dealers would provide resources for this battle. It also would be helpful for people who legally receive a prescription for these painkillers, but sell them to unauthorized users, pitch in for allowing the abuse to escalate and continue.
Selling pills legally prescribed to one person are only intended for the person named on the prescription. Those same drugs become illegal when the person listed on the prescription sells them illegally. At that time, they have become criminals and the money they receive from their sales should be confiscated and used to fight the abuse that they have contributed to.
If one doesn’t need the drugs, one shouldn’t fill the prescription. Better yet, tell the doctor to cancel the prescription.
The drug companies only distribute drugs that were authorized by licensed physicians after evaluating a specific person with specific symptoms. I understand that, over time, the amount of prescribed opioid drugs might appear to have become excessive, but I don’t want a drug manufacturer, drug distributor or the government to modify or overrule a medical treatment plan that my personal physician has identified as being appropriate for me.
Why should I, or anyone else, have to endure horrible chronic pain, just because some others have chosen to be involved in criminal activity?
I can only imagine the public uproar that would occur if the drug companies decided, on their own, not to provide specific drugs that were legally prescribed as part of a treatment plan that was developed by a patient and his or her medical professional. Columbus gather the needed number of signatures by next summer, their measure to amend the Ohio Constitution will be on the 2018 ballot (“Spurned applicant pushes to get pot issue on ballot,” Associated Press article, Dec. 12 Dispatch).
Given legalization’s broad support and compelling benefits, there is a good chance they will succeed. The good news is that the proposed measure is not terrible policy. It allows personal use by adults, but licenses and taxes sales, protects the rights of employers and property owners, and prohibits public consumption and commercial activity near children and churches.
It provides Ohio’s struggling farmers new revenue sources, and, most importantly, gives local government control over commercial activity. I would hope this means counties, townships, and municipalities can elect to stay “dry” if they so choose. However, enshrining legalization in the constitution is a misguided use of our most fundamental governing document.
The Ohio Revised Code is the source of our current marijuana prohibition and the proper vehicle for repealing it. Therefore, I urge the General Assembly to be proactive, hold hearings, and enact common-sense legislation to reflect the will of the people on this matter. Columbus Columbus