Comment on Why are americans taking health advice from a former heroin addict ?
RaoulDook@lemmy.world 9 hours agoBut you must consider the possibility that heroin and brain worms damaged his brain, contributing to the stupidity, and his own stupid choices led to those circumstances that possibly increased his stupidity. Thus he remains open to criticize on all those topics.
maccentric@sh.itjust.works 9 hours ago
I don’t think heroin addiction necessarily damages your brain, and if you make it out the other side you will have learned quite the lesson (presumably)
wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz 7 hours ago
Anything that causes respiratory depression lowers available oxygen to the brain and can cause damage over time.
I understand the sentiment of destigmatizing addiction, but let’s not lie and say it can’t cause permanent damage. It’s a disease, right? And diseases can have aftermath.
maccentric@sh.itjust.works 4 hours ago
This is true, but I didn’t suggest that it can’t cause brain damage, just that it doesn’t necessarily have to follow. People with sleep apnea or who live at high altitudes don’t all have brain damage either.
deranger@sh.itjust.works 7 hours ago
If this was true those on chronic opiate medications would be given supplemental oxygen. There would also be studies demonstrating the neurodegenerative effects of opiates.
Opiates are rather safe outside of overdose and sequelae of unsafe injection / smoking. They are incredibly benign in the sense you could take 20-40-80-160mg OxyContin your whole life and not have any issues beyond constipation.
wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz 5 hours ago
Managed prescriptions are taken in safe doses. There’s no way to guarantee someone addicted to illicit opiates will stay below the threshold of dangerous consumption.
Even alcohol in large enough quantities kills brain cells. Stop pretending addiction is harmless, because it’s not helping addicts the way you seem to think it is.