Prescription Drug Use Falls In Medical Cannabis States

[widdershins]

...

Extremely amusing anecdote.  Thank you.

[SGOS]

I always like a story with a happy ending! 

Speaking of people who'll put anything in themselves........................................

Years ago I and another guard were assigned to take  prisoner to the local hospital for a migraine; our prison infirmary was unable to treat (guess he had it for 24 hours or more).  We get down to the local ER with him; the RN comes in and does the usual blood pressure, pulse, and complaints beyond the migraine exam.  The exam also included a lengthy survey as to which, if any drugs he'd ever taken/abused.   As I recall; there were about 2 our of 30 he hadn't used.   

Just a question.  Do they ever administer Demerol for a migraine, and how often do they do that?  I took a woman to the hospital with a migraine, and they gave her Demerol. I suspect she may have gone to the emergency room to get high, partly because I knew IV drug use was part of her past.  As far as I know, no one at the hospital asked her about her drug habits.  And while I've heard people say they get migraines, no one has ever brought up the treatment.  I was kind of surprised by the Demerol.

[widdershins]

I have some friends who are...how can I put this gently...lowlifes!  They've told me stories of their friends with no insurance going to the emergency room about once a month complaining of tooth pain, getting some opiate for it there and selling them on the streets for extra cash.

That one kind of pissed me off a little.  Especially given that I had $800 in bills when my wife went to the emergency room (doctor's office was closed) for a migraine (only one she's ever had, she was scared) and subsequent appointment scheduled for her just to tell her they didn't know.  And that was AFTER the insurance paid their part.  Because assholes like that treat the ER like a payday I have $800 in bills after insurance for fucking "We don't know".

[Nonsensei]

I have some friends who are...how can I put this gently...lowlifes!  They've told me stories of their friends with no insurance going to the emergency room about once a month complaining of tooth pain, getting some opiate for it there and selling them on the streets for extra cash.

That one kind of pissed me off a little.  Especially given that I had $800 in bills when my wife went to the emergency room (doctor's office was closed) for a migraine (only one she's ever had, she was scared) and subsequent appointment scheduled for her just to tell her they didn't know.  And that was AFTER the insurance paid their part.  Because assholes like that treat the ER like a payday I have $800 in bills after insurance for fucking "We don't know".

Its true. If people like that stopped abusing hospitals your bill would easily drop to $790.

Hospitals are businesses.

[Flanker1Six]

Its true. If people like that stopped abusing hospitals your bill would easily drop to $790.

Hospitals are businesses.

LOL!  You're a bad person!   

I never knew of any prisoners being given narcotics for pain, unless they were admitted to the hospital, and that course of treatment was SOP for what ever ailed them.    Taking an "officially stoned" prisoner back to the joint from ER treatment would have problematic for them and us. 

"Cheeking" or "tonguing" was epidemic amongst prisoners who reported to our infirmary for a wide variety of meds.  Ever hear the term "Thorazin Queen?"  We used to say they'd walk in (to med call) at 78 RPM, and walk out at 33 RPM.   Cheeked meds could be taken later in a batch, or sold to raise cash for PETA or UNICEF (LOL!).  Took a con to the ER for taking 24 tabs of asthma meds at once in an effort to commit suicide ( he survived). 

[SGOS]

Its true. If people like that stopped abusing hospitals your bill would easily drop to $790.

Hospitals are businesses.

That was one of the big selling points of Obamacare, but I haven't seen any actual statistics about the direction of costs of health care since then. Nor have I heard rumors of doctors and hospitals getting in line to lower their fees.  It may have happened, but how could you measure that?  It sounds more like one of those ideological theories that look good on paper, but doesn't translate into reality.