The opioid epidemic, as any addiction, is a complicated disease with no easy answer. One letter writer (Mr. Finnell) said he believes the epidemic is happening because the drugs are illegal. This view does not include the fact that many opioid-like drugs are available by prescription, making doctors as well as drug manufacturers complicit in this horrific public health emergency. Man-made addictictve drugs leave people craving more of the good feeling, the relief. Many turn to street drugs subsequent to the prescribed treatment.
Addiction is a disease, horrible to manage and lethal if not. It does not happen because a substance is or is not legal. An example: Alcohol is legal to buy by adults over 21 years old, but the disease of alcoholism, addiction to alcohol, still abounds. Like diabetes, addiction to any substance can be managed successfully by following a protocol found to be effective. Without following said suggested protocol, addiction of any kind can, in the end, be lethal while wreaking havoc in many lives in the long drawn out and painful process.
The current opioid epidemic needs our attention, diligence, determination, and perseverance. We CAN have a healthy vibrant drug-free community with a collective will for health. Let us put our heads, hearts, and souls into finding the Way. Compassionate action and understanding can go a long way to healing the broken human connections we now witness and experience.
For a future of our own design,...
As a bus driver for Medicaid riders in the past, I met and transported recovering addicts to and from various appointments, including the respective clinics for methadone or Suboxone. Some of the riders were diligent and persistent in their choice of recovery path, sticking to the program and protocol...
Laura Sibilia and the wireless tech industry tout the increased convenience of “expanded broadband” (read 5G) while neglecting to inform us all of the radioactive threat to our environment of 5G, which puts all life in danger of sickness and eventual death. Radioactivity kills. 5G is used by the...
With their push to legalize the 5G rollout in Vermont by succumbing to the pressure of industry lobbyists, the Legislature and Public Utility Commission fail in their jobs - fail to listen to citizens screaming, “Foul! Foul!” Everyday citizens of Vermont have done the research the legislators, commissioners, and the industry have failed to do. No studies by the industry have been done and yet they are willing to barge full steam ahead in their experiment on all us human...
Our recent current events, our current White House administration, and our federal Republican congressional “civil servants” all point to the dismal fact that we, everyday citizens, have failed in the education of our young, especially our young men. At this time of heightened public energy and intention for a better future, I suggest we focus some of this momentum on improving how we nurture our young, that they might become whole, healthy human beings with compassionate regard for others. As...
Melania Trump's wearing a jacket on a hot day with a very clear message painted on the back is probably the most - and perhaps only - truthful statement to come from the White House since she and her husband entered it. Meanwhile, by quoting the Bible out of context, and thereby changing its meaning, Jeff Sessions displayed his desperation to disguise his guilty conscience for kidnapping children of immigrant asylum seekers. As Americans, do we need more evidence of...
“Government ought to move in the direction of assuring that the wealth and resources of the world will be used to provide a materially secure life for all people on the planet - including opportunities for universal health care, quality child care, and education - simultaneously preserving the planet and its resources for future generations.” Do you agree? This is the foundation of the Liberty Union platform. Since both Republicans and Democrats, the members of the two-party system who had...
Pedestrians have the right of way, right? Wrong! Pedestrians have the right of way when a car is stopped or has time and distance enough to stop before colliding with a pedestrian in its path. The laws of physics supersede the human made-up “laws” of the road. A car traveling at 30 mph (the speed limit on Western Avenue in West Brattleboro) needs 109 feet to stop (that is 36 yards for football fans). Friday afternoon traffic on Western Avenue...