Data Sharing Review

[Peter Fairbrother]

Michael Simpson wrote:

> i am slightly concerned that you may be *seriously* out of touch with
> the majority of our underclass.

I'm far more concerned that you, as a person who deals with them, are 
far more out of touch with them than I am.



> Can i at this time extend an open invitation to you and anyone else
> that wishes to come on a tour of Easterhouse and Possil with me to see
> the sort of folk that i am designing for. You have previous mil
> experience, i'll supply the landie.

Been there, seen it, the tee-shirt got trashed a long time ago.

Apparently you *haven't* seen them, except as bodies to treat.

In the 60's/early-70's docs in your position used to give the junkies
lots of heroin and/or morphine. It was in very small pills, iirc  10-20
1/6 grain or 10 mg tablets, in glass tubes the size of thick matches.

Good portion control. Few overdoses. Possibility of joining normal society.

The junkies seemed mostly to survive and do well (at least compared to
now), even though they were addicted. Some held jobs. Being a
junkie wasn't necessarily derogatory.

The perceived-by-parliament problem was that some of the junkies gave or
sold their supplies to non-junkies, who then either became junkies
themselves (the poor) or were the children of the rich, who also
sometimes became junkies, but who more importantly sometimes killed
themselves.

So they introduced methadone, which doesn't give much of a high (except
to junkies who don't have enough to support their addiction - the high
then is just the relief of not being in withdrawal).

Problem is, methadone is 2 or 3 times more addictive than heroin. It's
also an opiod narcotic. The White House has this to say:

"Methadone is a rigorously well-tested medication that is safe and
efficacious for the treatment of narcotic withdrawal and dependence"

Well, it's good for narcotic withdrawal and maintenance - but it's f**k
all use for treating narcotic addiction, if by treating you mean ending 
the addiction, except as a holding system in a social situation - which 
prescribed heroin or morphine would do equally well.



-- Peter Fairbrother

(been off even the weed for 20+ years now, though I still drink too much 
sometimes - but not too much too much too often, if you see what I mean)







> :-)
> kindest regards
> 
> mike
> 
> ps #/dislocations were my raison d'etre when i was in a&e
> 
>