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This will probably get some play and is a bit of a different topic. Former CEO of YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicicki son died of a drug freshman year of college at Cal.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/former-youtube-ceos-son-found-dead-uc-berkeley-rcna139355
The obvious implications is he took something laced with fentanyl. Culture war wise concerns about fentanyl are red coded though issues with fentanyl seem apparent in both red and blue states and people.
Overall I feel like this issue has lost its place in the news cycle. A quick google overdose deaths topped 112k in 2023 an all-time record. I am seeing a current U.S. population of 334 million. So to put this in perspective 112k multiplied by an average lifespan of 80 years is like 9 million deaths. Or close to 3% of US population at current rates will die by a drug overdose. I think I can fairly say it’s a huge issue even if you disagree with how I’m calculating the average persons risks of OD at around 3% in their lifetime.
Quick analysis of the kid he looks in shape for a 19 year old and was majoring in math so he’s the dream of any parent. Odd thing is he was found unresponsive at 4:23 pm on a Tuesday. That is going to be weird and details will come out as that time frame is more of an addict death. Versus I expected a weekend OD and he did some fentanyl laced coke/Molly during the weekend.
From people I’ve talked to opioids are amazing. I do not know if I’ve ever done them. They have to be if people do them. I’ve done molly/coke/mushrooms in the past. The big thing to me is I’m paranoid I’m doing something laced now and have largely cut out doing anything now.
The midtwit take is that dealers either sell both and cross contaminate or lace other drugs to get people addicted. Personally opinion and perhaps a difference without a difference is it’s probably lacing just so people say it’s the good shit.
Sorry for their loss.
Culture war issues
Plays into the immigration debate of not controlling the border
Blue states seem to be adopting a let it happen and treat but it doesn’t seem to be working
War on drug topics. I don’t think the old war on drugs ever dealt with the death rate we have now but war on drugs doesn’t seem stupid when it’s a 3% population level lifetime death rate which is far higher than COVID and killing people with high life expectancy
Other policy considerations. Some would say things like legalize drugs to kill fentanyl and people get “safe” drugs. Some conservative arguments that something’s should just be illegal. Opioids probably are fantastic but the death rate for someone who tries opioids seems extremely high.
My numeracy tells me this is a big problem and I believe an order of magnitude bigger problem than COVID. I don’t think it’s quite as hard coded in culture wars.
I doubt fentanyl will ever be as radioactive as covid because of the element of choice. Nice people feel like they can just not buy fentanyl, so they don’t care as much. Obviously the children angle changes this a bit but I to be a bit harsh I still think it’s basically true that only fuckup teenaged take hard drugs.
Might still get some traction like cigarettes but not fury in the same way. Personally what really infuriates me is cocaine users acting like they have no responsibility for gang violence in London.
Stopping the use of cocaine by respectable middle class people in London would be easy, just have the police raid high end clubs, posh pubs in Chelsea and Clapham and a few private parties in affluent neighborhoods and search (and charge) everyone with the drug, and do so persistently every weekend for a year or two and the issue would solve itself. But they prefer to go upstream.
Middle class people know their situation is extremely precarious and would usually be ruined by criminal conviction; that they use cocaine so openly is a testament to the fact that the British police almost never prosecute or even arrest hard drug users unless they’re extremely visible or otherwise annoy them.
Agree completely. I once had someone pretty high up in the Met (London Metropolitan Police) proselytise me for legalising hard drugs. His argument was that they caused too many problems with blackmail.
Obviously he has the right to his opinion but I think it’s a pretty bad look for a senior police officer. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d been taking something himself.
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