Florida: The Pill Popper's Paradise

OxyContin Express Film

Before watching the film OxyContin Express I knew that America had an illicit prescription drug problem but I was shocked to find out that Florida was the pill popper’s paradise and the main go-to state for prescribed drugs. Finding out that Broward County had one of the highest amount of pain clinics (100) in the nation where individuals from all over the country comes to get prescribed drugs was very shocking since it is so close to home. Florida, unlike most other states did not have a prescription drug management plan which makes it easier for pain clinics to give out pills to patients without any real cause. The film stated that about 11 people die in Florida a day from drug overdose. I, like many others think that not enough attention is being placed on the rising drug problem. This easy access of pills has people coming from all over the country to get pills that has become a huge problem in the state of Kentucky. A Kentucky sheriff also points out that Florida is making all the money while Kentucky is feeling the pain. People would come to Florida, buy pills and take it to another state where the pills are hard to find and sell it there for more. I think that Florida needs to take the initiative to cut down on the illicit prescription drug problem that are taking many lives and leaving families torn, either by death, addiction, or being placed in jail.

            Florida since then has implemented a drug management program which would reduce some of the problems like the pipeline that has been created. I think that Florida needs to have the DEA keep a close eye on all the clinics and hospitals that gave out prescription drugs. Those individuals that are writing the prescription need to make sure that there is a real reason that their patients are receiving the pills. They need to double check that they have not been given medication before, since this seems to be a huge problem. Right amounts also need to be given. I think in order for all of the above to work, each individual is going to have to be place on a data state/national data base which can be used to search a patient to see the prescription amount, if they have been given the pills already and for what reason the pill are being prescribed. This way certain individuals are held reliable under the law and this problem can be stopped. It is important for the state of Florida to do something about the mess that has gone untouched for a long time. More lives are at risk and the problem is known, so why not go after it. Cracking down on process of distributing prescribed drugs will decrease the pill pipeline by not giving more pills than needed to each individual. By having such a system, errors would be less likely so that real patients would be treated and not addicts.
              We have learned from class that drugs can be very addictive and it hurts to see individuals getting hooked on medication that is supposed to help make them feel better. In reality many are plagued by addiction and getting into further trouble with the law in numerous ways as seen in the film. We have learnt that drugs can be made from many different substances, and those on the streets are less potent than those that are made for pharmacies. These drugs are legal but they are being dispersed in illegal manners making prescription pills so dangerous especially when used without drugs.

An Interesting Read.... The Cocaine Kids!!

The book Cocaine Kids by Terry Williams gave me an insight into the drug culture of the 1980’s. It depicted the ups and downs of the lives of eight teens as they try to live a sustainable lifestyle for different reason. The author provided much details of the lives of these teens through an ethnography. The author acted as part of the drug culture, viewing the lives of the kids’ sometimes in real time and by having one on one conversations with them. He would gather information by taking note, quick sketches and also keeping things in his memory so that he doesn’t scare of clients and seem out of place. He would meet the teens for two hours a day, three days a week to discuss details about the drug world.

Three aspects of the drug culture that was interesting to me was the starting of a crew, the slangs used in the drug culture, and the importance of being powerful and strong in this culture. The first aspect that caught my attention was the process starting a crew and keeping business intact. The main character, Max had to find reliable individuals who was a good supplier and could hustle. I thought that the way Max treated his fresh starters was very interesting. He would “request money at the middle of the week before it was due, he would go collect the money himself”. This way there was less room for failure and room for messing up.

The second aspect of the book that I thought was interesting was the slang/ drug language. Throughout the book there were a number of words that confused me while I was reading. There were many words related to cocaine that I had no idea what it meant. For example, shake is the term for a mixture of cocaine powder with adulterant, recompressed cocaine is when you cut cocaine to make rocks so the buyer thinks that it is pure. Chalking is a chemical procedure that makes cocaine white. There were many words used to describe the different jobs of the main eight teens in the book for example, a steerer was someone who directed people to the drug house. I really enjoyed having the glossary at the end of the book to help me understand the slang spoken throughout the book.

What I found the most interesting was length that some of the dealers would go to while trying to prove themselves as powerful, strong and independent. Towards the end of the book depicted a great example with Chillie. Chillie tried to take over McQueen’s drug spot and her customers. He kept trying to split from Max, and would lie about his dealing with McQueen to make others think that he was powerful. Kitty also wanted to show her strength by being independent. She started feeling powerful when she had a limo pick her up from her place. By as shown in the book, the drug business is very dangerous can has many draws backs such as death.

This relates to class because the author talks about the many different types of cocaine as we have learned about in class such as freebase and crack. The book has shown that different people react differently to drugs, some are more addicted and cannot resist the urge and therefore do badly at selling the drug. We also learned about the different routes of administration, as the author points out in her book. Some individuals sniffed, snorted and smoked cocaine. The author also pointed out that the color of the cocaine mattered.  I enjoyed the book overall and learnt a lot about cocaine and the drug culture.

"Go Pills and no-Go-Pills"

 

Reading the three articles about the use of “go pills” or Dexedrine I instantly thought that such use of amphetamines in the military can be unethical. I personally do not think that the military should be allowing combat pilots to use amphetamines to increase alertness or performance. I do not believe that the military is being ethical by providing/allowing the use of amphetamines to its people. There are so many possible side effects that are pointed out by the three articles which include: depression, addiction, elevated blood pressure/heart rate and even paranoia. Yes, the military is giving the individuals the choice of if they want to use the drug or not but it will place them in jeopardy if something happens and they haven’t taken the drug. The article also points out that the FDA has approved the drug to reduce/manage fatigue.

I honestly do not think that pilots’ career will suffer without the use of “go pills.” I think that the military needs to come up with a plan to make sure that their pilots are getting enough rest and that they are not being over worked in the process. I believe that the amphetamines that the pilots are taking right now are not the best solution to the problem. The human body is unique and will react in different ways, and some consequences of using amphetamines are that they can actually impair a pilot’s perspective. For example, Canadian civilians were bombed by the U.S. planes because the pilots confused them as enemies, causing innocent lives. Another consequence is that the pilot can become addicted and over the drug, thus leading to other work related injuries or mishaps. The U.S. does not let regular civilian pilots use this drug and sometimes their fights are just as long. I do not think that anyone should be using drugs to keep them alert. I think that there are more natural strategies that the military can employ to reduce the use and effects of amphetamines, such as having different shifts, and ready substitutes to take over if and when a pilot is feeling fatigue. This way no one will necessarily be sleep deprived or feel the need to take amphetamines to keep then awake or to fall asleep. With the proper treatment (enough rest), the body will be able to properly function on its own, without the use of such possibly harmful drugs that can end someone’s career or life.

As learned in class this amphetamine is listed as a schedule 2 drug which means that it is legal, but the FDA has not stated that the drug can manage fatigue which it is mostly used for. I have learned that drugs can effect individuals differently which means that some may have positive reactions while others may not. Just being on the drug can make someone feel more awake, which may not be entirely attributed to the drug itself. Another drug is being used to make the pilots rest/sleep if they are having trouble also. If the U.S continues to use such drugs then they can become more common in other parts of the job soon, which can be a big problem in the future. 

What are teens using these days!!

Here are three summaries with my feedback about the drugs that I am first learning about,

 

Pretty, right...BUT what are the effects? 

 

The Halpern et al article discussed the neuropsychological and cognitive effects of ecstasy. I think that the study done included an about equal and relevant sample to attain results from. The researchers tested the cognitive function of ecstasy users with a number of neuropsychological test that could have yield significant result. In this article there were a lot of factors that were not taken into consideration and may have allotted for low cognitive functions. As we have learned in this class there are different factors that affect an individual’s reaction to a certain drug. Not everyone reacts the same nor do they have the same side effects. This article points out that participants were paid, and could have led to results being skewed. The authors cautioned the readers about their findings, because it may not be fully accurate. The results of the study showed that there was not much significant differences between users and non-users, and it did not match up with previous findings in the same field. This indicates which that more research needs to be conducted to yield reliable results. I think if I were to conduct this experiment I would have had ecstasy users take a test when they were using the drugs and had them retake it about a week later after they had the drug out of their system. I would have compared the results to see the direct effects.

                  

 

The Mir et al discussed the possible dangers of the now widespread use of synthetic cannabinoids such as K2 and Spice in teenagers. I thought that this article was interesting because this is my first time hearing about these smoking products. This article looked at three separate cases of individuals who were presented with similar side effects. These were the first cases documented to the researchers and although they all showed signs of acute myocardial infraction after smoking, when all other screens performed came back normal or negative. Because these are only three cases, it is not normal to jump out and come to conclusions, but I do think that the researchers did a good job in calling for a heighten awareness on this matter. These substances do not show up on drug tests which give individuals a sense of security. We have learned in class about labels laws that the DEA require. Laws are in place in certain states to stop the use of certain known chemical substances used in the making of such cannabinoids. I do think that researchers need to look further into the dangers and use of cannabinoids to prevent possible deaths from occurring.  

In the last article Schneir et al discusses two cases of women who experienced side-effects after the use of Spice. The common side-effects between the two cases were that they were mostly anxious. One said that she felt psychotic but did not state anything further. The researchers did a great job in showing the possible dangers of these products by showing the packages are not marketed for sale. The patients did state that this was their first time using the product which means this could be a reason for the mild/acute side-effects. I think that this situation could have gotten worse for these to individuals if they had continued using after experiencing the side-effects. I think that more research has to been done on the effects to such synthetic cannabinoids since it is becoming so popular. Like the previous one we are unable to detect its use in drug and urine tests. We learnt in class about different schedules that drugs are placed, and this article states that 5 synthetic cannabinoids are illegal thus marked as schedule 1 drugs.