I’ve Looked at Life From Both Sides Now

Today’s title is a line from an old Jonie Mitchel song: “Both Sides now.” That is one of the things that frustrates me in life. Sometimes things happen, good or bad, that doesn’t make sense. Sometimes they seem to play against one another,

In the dictionary, a dichotomy is a division or contrast between two things that are or are represented as being opposed or entirely different.

Two things recently happened in the world of addiction and recovery that is a dichotomy. One has the potential to move us forward the other the risk of causing addiction and mental health issues at incredulous proportions.

The first is the recent case that required of the largest drug manufacturers to pay in a big way.

The article called “4 U.S. companies will pay $26 billion to settle claims they fueled the opioid crisis.” Said this:

Four of the largest U.S. corporations have agreed to pay roughly $26 billion to settle a tsunami of lawsuits linked to claims that their business practices helped fuel the deadly opioid crisis.

Johnson & Johnson, the consumer products and health giant that manufactured generic opioid medications, will contribute $5 billion to the settlement.

The company announced in 2020 that it would get out of the prescription opioid business in the U.S. altogether.

Three massive drug wholesalers — AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson — will pay a combined $21 billion.

Sackler family is willing to pay more in Purdue opioids settlement, mediator says

Sackler family is willing to pay more in Purdue opioids settlement, mediator says

“This settlement represents real accountability,” said North Carolina state Attorney General Josh Stein, who helped negotiate the deal.

Stein noted that most of the funds are earmarked for health care and drug treatment programs designed to ease the opioid crisis.

“There will be people alive next year because of the programs and services we will be able to fund because of these settlement proceeds,” he said.

The article is worth the read, “4 U.S. companies will pay $26 billion to settle claims they fueled the opioid crisis.”

In my own state, Connecticut, that will play out to 300 million dollars over the next 18 years toward evidence-based strategies that will work to eradicate the opioid epidemic in Connecticut.

I hope a good portion of the funds will also eradicate another side of the dilemma. We need to stop teaching our young people how to become addicts. That’s a bold and scary statement but it is happening right under our noses in many ways that are beyond the scope of this blog, but the second event, maybe tsunami, is a better word, is about just that.

WOULD YOU LIKE A LITTLE CANDY

On June 23, 2022 the ruling was made that Juul, primarily for lack of co-operation and marketing practices that directly target children as young as early middle school, could not longer sell their products in the U.S.. Within a matter of days the ban was paused as Juul filed an appeal. After 30 days they can request another appeal. These two articles give the details: FDA bans Juul e-cigarettes as U.S. pursues broader crackdown on nicotine products  and FDA temporarily pauses ban on Juul e-cigarette sales .

E-Cigarettes can be used to deliver a lot of products, one is cannabis, that’s why its so important that we protect our kids.

THIS IS NOT YOUR GRANDPA’S CANNABIS.

In our post A HARD QUESTION THAT KEEPS COMING UP explains some of this.

Several recent studies have shown that vaporizing cannabis delivers more THC to the bloodstream than smoking, including one by Live Science.

In a study, which was conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and John Hopkins School of Medicine, 17 subjects were gathered for six separate 8.5-hour sessions, separated by a week or more. All participants had not smoked or ingested cannabis in the month before the study was conducted and were tested for compliance and other impairments before the study sessions.

The participants were asked to either smoke with a pipe or vaporize using a volcano measured doses of cannabis containing a total of 0mg, 10mg or 25mg of THC over the course of the six sessions. Each time, participants were asked to fill out an impairment questionnaire as well as had their vitals measured and blood taken.

Subjects who vaporized weed had significantly higher amounts of THC in their blood compared to those who smoked an equal dose. Results from the impairment questionnaire also showed increased effects, as those who vaporized not only self-reported more side effects like dry eyes or mouth but also made twice as many mistakes on cognitive tests.

WE REALLY DO NOT KNOW WHAT THESE KINDS OF THC LEVELS CAN DO

We really do not know what these higher levels of THC will do, especially in young minds. A paper by Ale

x Berenson “Marijuana, Mental Illness, and Violence” is very thought-provoking. Here is one study the article sites, “After an exhaustive review, the National Academy of Medicine found in 2017 that “cannabis use is likely to increase the risk of developing schizophrenia and other psychoses; the higher the use, the greater the risk.” Also that “regular cannabis use is likely to increase the risk for developing social anxiety disorder.” Berenson also wrote an informative book called “Tell Your Children the Truth about Marijuana, Mental Health, and Violence .

THE ONE THING WE DO KNOW

I was amazed several years ago when I spoke at the Henry Lee Institute before an audience of a variety of people in Law Enforcement and government at Lee’s Annual Symposium. The year I spoke was focused on the opioid crisis. What surprised me was that repeatedly, DEA agents, Federal prosecutors, Undercover police, and others cited the fact that over 80% of their drug arrests were those that started by smoking pot. Let that sink in, as you ponder all we just spoke about. My post “These People Are Trying to Help Us” talks more about this.

ALL OF THESE DOLLARS CAN MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE

The funds made available as a result of the case against Johnson & Johnson, AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson can be used equally effectively if we use them not just for treatment, which is very important but also to help our kids never get started with drugs.

HOW CAN I MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE?

One of the ways you can get involved on a local level is to reach out to your State Representatives. They are the ones who will decide how the funds are spent. Another way is to get involved in a Local Prevention Counsel. A recent article about the Local Prevention Counsel I am involved in, OASIS  explains how LPC’s can make a difference. YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

This weeks featured image is by Brooke Shaden for VOGUE Magazine called “Clouds on a Leash”