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110 Comments
- fluidfoundation, on 10/10/2007, -2/+23Robert Downey Jr consumes the other 20%.
- CoachZed, on 10/10/2007, -3/+21Inaccurate title. The article clearly says people in poor countries can't get morphine because of 1) fear of addition 2) local laws. It has nothing to due with the West's consumption of morphine.
- psg188, on 10/10/2007, -14/+25Also that's called capitalism. We can afford Morphine, are you saying we should feel bad for being successful?
- inactive, on 10/10/2007, -3/+12The six countries listed are United States, Canada, France, Germany, Britain and Australia
United States (300mil)
Canada (33mil)
France (60mil)
Germany (82mil)
Great Britian (60mil)
Australia (20mil)
Total = 555mil or 10% of the worlds populations.
Dumbass. - mx3Taggert, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8"She had seen a doctor at one of many low-cost “Indian clinics” who pulled at the breast with forceps so hard that she screamed, misdiagnosed her tumor as an infected boil, and gave her an injection in her buttocks that abscessed, adding to her misery."
I cant possible imagine why these doctors aren't supplied with pharmaceuticals. - shumonkey, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8FTA:
Nor is it expensive, even by the standards of developing nations. One hospice in Uganda, for example, mixes its own liquid morphine so cheaply that a three-week supply costs less than a loaf of bread.
Nonetheless, it is still routinely denied in many poor countries.
Doctors in developing countries, he explained, often have beliefs about narcotics that prevailed in Western medical schools decades ago — that they are inevitably addictive, carry high risks of killing patients and must be used sparingly, even if patients suffer. - zanzzz, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7What no one will discuss is the best solution to the scourge of poppy cultivation. Governments should license farmers and purchase their entire crops. Of course this would be expensive until you consider the alternatives. Governments spend the money anyway on suppression, interdiction, incarceration. Add the staggering social cost of a world full of junkies and wealthy narco/terrorist groups and then you will understand what a bargain government purchase would be. Of course this will never be attempted; it's the equivalent of the Pope handing out condoms! Better each government stay in its ivory tower of pure idealogical blinds. As long as governments prop up the price of opiates by putting out fires with gasoline, failure is the only result.
- chochazel, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7Really? I'd say the title clearly implies that everyone else suffers *because* 80% of the world's morphine is consumed by six countries.
The title is completely misleading for the following reasons:
- It's false that *everyone* else suffers; nobody in the Netherlands is suffering due to lack of Morphine, I doubt the Japanese are. Already we can see that it's rhetorical attention seeking.
- There's simply not a world shortage of morphine - the article makes it clear that it's cheap and easy to grow. It therefore does not help understanding to talk in terms of percentages. 90% of fried frog's legs are consumed in France, that doesn't mean their greed is causing a shortage of frog's legs- the rest of the world just chooses not to eat them
- The dash clearly suggests logical relationship - it implies that people are suffering *because* 80% of morphine is consumed by those 6 countries. If you can't see that, I suggest you have poor reading comprehension skills. - mstoneburner, on 10/10/2007, -4/+10You ***** moron. Pot doesn't have nearly the pain-killing properties of morphine. I like pot as much as the next guy but seriously, ***** off. Pot isn't worthless for pain management.
- swrostmore, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6They should ship some of the good ***** out of Afghanistan to those poor-ass countries that need pain meds. The US could subsidise it (help to purchase it from Afghan farmers) which would also solve the problem of Taliban getting drug money.
- REBELinBLUE, on 10/10/2007, -1/+7Did you even read the article "The poor and middle-income countries where 80 percent of the world’s people live consumed only about 6 percent." ;)
- norman619, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5Hard liquor has a better pain killing effect than pot does.
- mstoneburner, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5Pot has magically become as powerful a pain-killer as morphine? When did that happen? Oh wait, it didn't.
- nepawoods, on 10/10/2007, -2/+7"its sad so many suffer due to politics"
That pretty much sums up the state of the world. - algorhythmix, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5Read the article .. "the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Britain and Australia" ..so its richest six countries rather than six largest countries
- norman619, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4The only ones rich nations are responsible for are themselves. Taking care of others is just a bonus. It really bothers me when people say we, as a rich nation, have a responsibility to take care of those which have less. These countries which have less should be working on dealing with the issues which have them in the poor condition they are in. We can show them how to fix some of their problems but it is 100% up to them to do the work.
- benitojuarez, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5The morphine the better.
- jason469, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5Morphine is the most over-hyped drug in the world. I was on it for three full days because I had a life threatening accident that left me in some serious pain.
The feeling is hard to describe, it doesn't really kill the pain it takes off the edge at best. You feel like everything is out of touch and you hear people, and you're talking but you are kind of zoned out in a bad way. It made me feel really sick and just overall messed up, but I was in so much pain that I would rather have it take off the edge a little instead of having to suffer the pain that I was in.
*Didn't get enough time to fix a spelling error, so I made another post*
Please bury the other one down. - EatingPie, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5Way to misrepresent a story. Here's the REAL headline.
"Drugs Banned, Many of World’s Poor Suffer in Pain"
Sheesh.
-Pie - stupergenius, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Yeah, WAY worse than having a massive tumor in your colon that feels like a razor covered gerbil is tap-dancing in your innards.
- irvman21, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4"Is digg full of communists?"
I think they prefer to be called Marxists or Socialists. - stupergenius, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Is drafhk being offensive? No, drafhk is being stupid.
- mustang460, on 10/10/2007, -3/+7it's a powerful painkiller used in hospitals mostly for pain due to surgery/trauma
morphine is cheap to produce, its sad so many suffer due to politics - samadam, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4Morphine is both a very powerful and very important drug. It is the body's natural painkiller, so it is very safe, when administered in the correct dosage. If you have to do surgery without anesthesia or someone is in severe pain from illness or injury, morphine is a great drug. However, it is highly addictive.
One of the interesting facts is that it is safe for self dosing. A patient can raise his morphine dosage until he doesn't feel the pain anymore. He may be at a level that would kill a healthy person, but a person in such pain can tolerate such levels. - inactive, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4It's one of the strongest, most effective painkillers the world has ever known. Entire wars have been swayed based upon which side has more access to morphine. Attempts to synthesize it prove entirely too expensive to be practical. The only catch is that it's opium based, which means we can't grow it anywhere in the United States, despite the fact that there are very few places in the world where opium poppy can't grow.
Fun fact: If you eat a poppyseed muffin with seeds pulled freshly off the plant, your tongue becomes numb. - surfing, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3What in the hell is google? I've never used it... (OK)
- Felbane, on 10/10/2007, -2/+5RTFA:
"Figures gathered by the International Narcotics Control Board, a United Nations agency, make it clear: citizens of rich nations suffer less. Six countries — the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Britain and Australia — consume 79 percent of the world’s morphine, according to a 2005 estimate. The poor and middle-income countries where 80 percent of the world’s people live consumed only about 6 percent."
Leaving 20% of the population with 79% of the world's morphine. It's not due to proportion, but as psg188 stated, capitalism and being able to purchase and provide morphine in these countries. - rsvguy, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4Here's a thought, why not BUY the opium from Afghanistan that would otherwise go to the black market and provide morphine for everyone?
Increased supply == lower prices.
It would solve a number of problems. The cost of morphine, the problem of a cash crop for Afghanistan and stopping the illegal opium trade. It might even give the Afghans a better price than they're getting from the drug lords with the resultant increase in their standard of living.
The US though will probably not give this a thought and will continue burning the opium poppies in the name of the war on drugs/terror/everything... - zanzzz, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3The US taxpayer already subsidizes the costs of pharmaceuticals throughout the rest of the world! Bush and his former Republican Congress even codified it into law; disallowing the US government to negotiate as a single buyer with drug manufacturers. The industry freely admits that the profits made within the US largely pay for research and development. If big Pharma wasn't allowed to bilk Uncle Sam he would have to extract his pound of flesh from other countries.
- chochazel, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3You obviously didn't read this article, it quite clearly states the reason that these countries aren't getting morphine - it has nothing to do with the "rich" countries. At no point is this implied in the article, only in the stupidly misleading digg title. The whole point of the article is that this cheap, easy to grow drug is not getting used due to ill informed fear of addiction and opiates. RTFA and stop making yourself look silly on the internet - thanks for parading your misconceptions, preconceptions and wilful ignorance.
- stellarceltic, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3I see what you did there.
- eean, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2um, RTFA. Its not capitalism, its misinformation amongst doctors and policy makers. Morphine is really cheap.
- stellarceltic, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Somebody didn't RTFA...
- Yazilliclick, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3Probably because we're capable and willing to pay for it? I'm sure if any other country ponied up their own money manufacturers would be more than willing to ramp up productions.
- inactive, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Well everyone always does hate #1, not that most of us give a ***** what the lesser countries think.
- fasda, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2but at that point its very easy to die from alcohol poisoning
- FrankieBallz, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Medical marijuana has its place in modern medicine, but so do opiates. They should be used to treat two different conditions, someone that needs large doses of opiates is not going to have his pain satiated by any amount of marijuana.
- nikkesen, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Wikipedia is your friend. :) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morphine
- Infantrydude, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2OK reality time here Forget crappy third world doctors and their inability to diagnose or maintain sterile practices if you have ever been to a third world pharmacy you know that you can walk in a buy pretty much anything. Guys got busted all the time for steroids use. And the pharmacists will try and diagnose you and tell you what to buy. There is little to no regulation or training (one of the reasons we have drug resistant strains of bacteria) of the pharmacists. And of course you have the counterfeit medicine issue which is rampant in the third world you think it is vancomyosin and it is just sugar and food coloring. If they were openly selling narcotics think about all the crime and abuse. And even if it was readily available could the people afford it or would the US and other countries have to subsidize narcotics for poor people. There is an election issue. "If elected I will take money from US citizens to give it to third world people so they can afford their drugs"
- Yazilliclick, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2And you apparently need reading lessons as he/she did not make any claim of self success but instead used 'we' which would be in reference to the country which when compared to the other countries in this article is quite successful.
- cranium, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2RTFA. The problem isn't market forces, morphine is cheap and plentiful. The problem is because morphine is illegal in those countries.
- norman619, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2If I'm in that much pain I wouldn't mind the risk if I had to choose between pot and liquor.
- inactive, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2typicalusername > you attempt to sound cool and cruel just fails. it just seems that you have a poor understanding of the world.
- typicalusername, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2So, which country do you belong to? Aus, UK? Correct me if I'm wrong, but when has ANY country not thought of themselves? Do I see Japan, China, UK, France, Canada or ANY country fo that matter...Intake thousands of refugees? Oh yes! Let's burden our overtaxed social programs, when we can't even take care of our own. Live with it people...People die around the world, and pretty gruesomly sometimes. It's sad, but it happens!
- Yazilliclick, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2And a lot of the poorer countries as expressed in the article don't believe in using many modern medicines or practicies.
- psg188, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3I never said the success was by my own skill and personal hard work, but I'm successful none the less. Why should I feel guilty for my good fortune, I do volunteer work and give away a sizable portion of my income to charity. What more do you want from me!
- conchur, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2You inadvertently menaced an elevator, and then got given hard drugs?
(sorry jason469, I know you fixed it below, but I couldn't resist) - dafragsta, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Some day, there'll be a cure for pain.
- r1y23, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1No pain, no gain
- typicalusername, on 10/10/2007, -2/+3Sorry, I'll get dugg down for this, but why the hell do I care? A news story about another problem in Africa! Oh dear! If the racial/tribal violence wasn't enough to make me never want to go. Now, there's a bunch of cancer/aids patients there. Also, check that, they've been dealing with stuff like this for years. They didn't have those drugs 100 to 200 years ago, so why should we all of a sudden need to give them our stash. A) If we start taking upon ourselves to buy Afghani or other opiates, and produce them here in the US. You can't tell me that it's going to lend itself to abuse, and add to our drug problem. B) Who's gonna run this project to help them? The UN? Yeah, they run stellar programs to help people......Oil for food...! There's a reason why your average person doesn't care about Africa, because it's messed up beyond saving. If it wasn't for the spectacular species and other forms of wildlife, would we even care about the continent? I dare say no...
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