Ex-Governor Paterson Blames Heroin Crisis on Childhood Medication

[hrmjustin]

Will Bredderman

Former Gov. David Paterson told radio listeners today that he believes the recent spike in heroin overdose deaths is a consequence of over-medicating children.

On the heels of a city report showing that unintentional fatal drug poisonings increased by 41 percent between 2010 and 2013, with heroin involved in 54 percent of all deadly overdoses, Mr. Paterson blamed the epidemic on a culture of medicating children for conditions like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

“There is a lot of misery, a lot of pain, and we are feeding it,” the former governor said on the Geraldo Rivera radio program. “I think there are more eight, nine, 10-year-olds who are on drugs that are legal.”



Read more at http://observer.com/2014/08/ex-governor-paterson-blames-heroin-crisis-on-childhood-medication/#ixzz3BoSqmsOO

[MADem]

1. Huuuuuuh????

I remember heroin being a helluva problem well before "ADD" and "ADHD" entered the lexicon. I remember heroin being a massive problem when kids who acted up in class were not given a pill, but sent to the principal's office, kept after school, suspended, expelled or sent to reform school.

So, I think his "cause and effect" scenario has a few holes in it.

I think the quality/strength of drugs has increased down the years. An ounce of pot used to be had for 12 bucks but it wasn't super strong and all buds--there was a lotta sticks and seeds in there. Heroin, I'll wager, was more "stepped on" back in the day, making it harder for people to kill themselves.

I don't discount the influence of "hillbilly heroin" bringing new users to the heroin scene, and I don't discount the influence of "heroin chic"--not just amongst the supermodels, but the wrinkled old rock stars (who go get their blood "washed" when their habits get out of control) as well. These folks make it seem as though heroin is a dabbling habit that can be managed, rather than something that can kill people like Phillip Seymour Hoffmann.

[hrmjustin]

2. He is a good man but he has moments.

[MADem]

3. Yeah, I think he's looking for a reason, but I think the reason just might be that the

shit is cheap now that there's no crop eradication going on, and it's an easy sub for oxy.

[hrmjustin]

4. It is also similar to oxycottin so people who can't afford it can afford this.

[Warpy]

5. He's unqualified to comment on medicine

If more people are using heroin, it's because the economy sucks and the country has been warring against people who work for a living and there is no longer any hope of living the good life for anyone born at the bottom (and many born into the middle) and heroin numbs the pain from all that.

The hope of bliss in heaven is supposed to compensate for the hell on earth the plutocrats have given us, but a lot of people out there are suspecting that's as much of a lie as trickle down economics is.

[hrmjustin]

6. He meant well but he needs to stop doing this.