Dusty you're very right.. It's not the drug, but rather the user. There are a ton of really bad drugs out there that get prescribed medically but when taken as prescribed, the risks are very low. Look at morphine... Do you guys have any idea how dangerous morphine can be if it got into the wrong hands?
I don't agree that oxycontin should be taken away. Many people do use it for what it is to get pain relief they deserve, but sadly the people that take it for recreation use ruin it for the rest of us. There's a term we referred to as "chippers" and it's people who can take drugs for recreational use but not get addicted. Hard drugs too.. So yes, I completely agree that the problem is the user, not the drug itself.
Opiate withdrawal leading to death? They can, but for a variety of reasons. For example, if a pregnant mother takes heroin, her baby becomes addicted (while still in the womb) so sometimes once that baby is born they get cut off, and because their so undeveloped their bodies can't handle it and they die. It's sad. Another thing is that sometimes when people withdrawal they're so reliant on these drugs that they'll do anything they can do to get them, and it can lead to psychosis and they go so crazy that they commit suicide. There's so many things to look at.
This doesn't mean if you take oxycontin for awhile while you're in pain that the second you stop you'll die. There are many different variations of Opiates and many different ways to use them. I'm sure you know of Heroin, which is an opiate. Do you know the leading cause of death with Heroin use? It's the spread of disease through dirty needles, or simply injecting into bad areas. Not the drug itself.
