Prince documents unsealed: Opioid prescriptions written in manager's name

[hunter]

5. Death is in the details. If addiction was considered an entirely medical problem...

... then the carnage would be greatly reduced.

Things go horribly wrong whenever addictions are considered moral failings and law enforcement issues. These secrets kill. Dark closets are very dangerous places.

Anyone who finds themselves trapped in an addiction -- alcohol, opiates, meth, whatever -- ought to be able to seek non-judgmental medical care, same as if they'd accidentally broken a leg. This medical care might even include for an indefinite period a "maintenance" dose of the substances they are addicted to.

Nicotine and alcohol are both deadly addictions, but neither in our society quite carries the baggage of other addictive substances. Even so, people are punished and judged for having a biological propensity toward those addictions.