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When I think of the war on drugs, I think of conservatives in western countries and their prohibition against marijuana. Of course, it’s a much bigger issue than that. It’s a war in which pleasure is something to deny and fear. But this war goes beyond mere denial of pleasure. It denies relief to those who require relief from physical and mental pain.
No one suffers more under this draconian war than those who live with pain, especially in third world countries.
Prof. Peter Klein, UBC’s acting graduate-school director, said that unlike many global health problems, pain treatment is not about money or lack of drugs, as morphine costs pennies per dose and is easy to manufacture.
He said bureaucratic hurdles and the chilling effect of the war on drugs were the main obstacles to morphine access in some countries.
“The story of global morphine shortages is one of those issues that both the media and the medical community has overlooked,” said Klein.
He said he became interested in pursuing the story after talking with a member of Doctors Without Borders who’d found a lack of morphine in a number of countries he’d visited.
“For instance in India, which is the largest supplier of medical morphine in the world, it’s virtually unavailable in most parts of the country except for one state [Kerala],” said Klein.
Klein said some countries, such as India, had over-reacted to UN regulations regarding access to opiates — an unintended result of the war on drugs.
Thank you Jymn, I hadn’t thought of the War on Drugs in that way before.
Portugal has had great success with decriminalization, which is the best option I have seen, but Harper seems intent on leading us down that tired old disfunctional path. Maybe I should grow a half a dozen pot plants, I hear being an inmate pays $108,000, or 11 times what disability affords me. *shakes head*
This article had some information I was unaware of. The damage done by this mock War on Drugs is so far reaching its boggles the mind. I was a victim of it here and have since focused my activism on making people aware of what is going on. For over a decade I had a very painful illness which I attempted to cure myself with holistic methods but to no avail. I finally decided to call doctors as I was suffering so much and every single one I called refused to see me as i had no insurance. They all wanted thousands and thousands up front to begin a plethora of tests. Bedridden and suicidal I learned I could get prescription pain meds online which I did and finally after many years I got my life back. Until last November 2011 when a 20 man SWAT team raided my home and took me away to jail in handcuffs in front of my daughter and 5 year old granddaughter. All for less than a months worth of meds. 4 months later I was a convicted felon. 52 years old, long time community member, wife of 33 years, mother, grandmother, business owner with no previous record. I have since written a book and started a site to raise awareness on this issue. Thank you for informing others on yet another aspect of this horrific war.
Nancy Rector
Author of “A Painful Truth – The Entrapment of America’s Sick”
http://www.apainfultruth.com