Addiction a mental health issue
Addiction a mental health issue
When I was a medical student, my professors taught us that we should never refill a prescription for narcotics because one of every 10 patients have emotional problems and become addicted.
Once addicted, withdrawal symptoms are very painful and it is hard to stop taking these drugs. When I became a professor of family medicine, I taught my residents the same thing. Unfortunately, times had changed.
The drug companies were telling doctors of that era that “pain management” meant that no one should ever feel an ounce of pain. In my career, I had hundreds of patients who were addicted to drugs and alcohol, never once did I experience any benefit from calling these folks criminals.
Ninety percent of folks who use drugs and alcohol have no addiction problems. Addicts are people in a lot of pain. They are emotionally and/or mentally ill.
The headline in the Garden Island on March 12 made me sad: “Alleged drug trafficker arrested.” Some poor guy is going to jail because he had three teaspoons of amphetamine and some heroin in his car. How will society benefit from throwing this guy in jail? Addiction is not a job for the police and the courts, it is a mental health issue.
Gordon LaBedz, MD, Kekaha
