jthorn65 at sbcglobal.net wrote:
>
> There are hundreds of thousand of addicts like Rush Limbaugh who go to work
> everyday and no one knows they are addicts. The fact that our society makes
> it more difficult for addicts to hold down jobs tells us nothing about the
> addictive substance they use. In the 1950's it was extremely difficult for an
> openly homosexual man to hold down a job. Does this tell you anything about
> homosexuality?
>
Excellent comparison and one I had not heard before. Indeed,many of the problems facing opioid users is the result of the stigma attached to it. And almost surely, the very thing you mention, the fact that openly homosexual individuals were and are drummed out of their jobs was actually used as a point against them. I can hear it even now..."Damned homo's , can't keep a goddamn job. Look at these statistics! The median income for flamers is half that of a high school graduate! Proof that their lazy too!"
Oh yeah..Love that analogy. I will use it often now in my harm-reduction activities..... or activities such as a junkie-Marxist is capable of performing there Leigh <g>
> The behavior habits of opium users are different than those of heroin users for
> both biological and societal reasons. You mention water. Opium is very much
> like water. Give a person all the water they want and they will be happy
> healthy and productive just as opium users were in the first part of this
> century. Deny someone access to either and how they might behave may be
> far more similar than you realize.
>
> John Thornton
> ___________________________________
> http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
>
>
Gary Williams