"Why does no one understand that the people primarily responsible for the opioid 'epidemic' are the addicts themselves? This is the real issue—some people, including youths, find their own lives unbearable. Why? What is it about our culture that leads to such desperation?" #QotD

"Why does no one understand that the people primarily responsible for the [opioid] 'epidemic' are the addicts themselves? Narcotics are not some irresistible force that takes over the human brain. Each addict made a conscious decision each and every time he or she 'tried,' 'tried again,' and “continued” rather than 'abstained.' ...
    "This then is the real issue—some people, including youths, find their own lives unbearable. Why? What is it about our culture that leads to such desperation? ...
    "The only effective long-term strategy for eliminating drug abuse from a culture—whether the drug of choice be oxycodone, heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, morphine, marijuana, or alcohol—is to create a culture that will support authentic self-esteem, not the pseudo-self-esteem created by the cult of vicious victimhood."

~ Donna Paris, from her post 'The Opioid Epidemic Becomes the New Rope Used for Big Business Lynching'
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