Amen to 1littleb's comment. Years of social reform progress in the 60's and 70's has been wiped out in a few decades.

Perhaps someone needs to do an intervention w/ Dr. Drew re: his addiction to celebrity!!

Yeah, good idea since he thinks anything can be an addiction!

Wait no... except for him of course!! He is too good for that.

Congress has there own private medical care at tax payer expense. How do they get to make decisions about the rest of us fairly????

That would be a biased decision for sure!

You know what sort of irks me is people die every day and when a celebrity dies they make this huge thing of it, people are people yes she was talented but she is also a person and I am sure she would not want every TV news show talking about her like that and every person who she talked to a week before her death are doing their round of the TV circuit.

I watched Dr. Drew today and he had Ray J on it who happened to date Whitney It was taped before her death but they had to add that angle to it. I think she took a Xanax she was taking them for a long time before she performed as I would to if I had to perform in front of all those people and that may be it or not, but they should let her rest in peace if they loved her as much as they say they do.

i think this is related to this topic and has me hot under the collar. i got a huge shipment yesterday and paid someone in my building to do the carrying (via elevator). i carried one small box and was in total pain. i don't tell anyone here that i have meds b/c of the way things are. and more than once i've had the "you don't look like you're in pain" and "why are you crying" when they drop in unexpectedly. he wanted to sell me hydros. they are recruiting. maybe he was trying to be nice. i wouldn't take anything from someone's pocket. what do you do? i know there is a dealer here in the bldg, but it isn't this guy.

serenity,

You call the cops and let them handle it!!!! ASAP'
Dealing drugs just brings more and more crime. Plus, it harms the innocent people who take these medications properly.

The guy offering to sell you stuff is a criminal too.

Until we all ban together and demand that these criminals stop, nothing good will happen for us.

Think about it this way, If your bank was robbed, would you stand by and let them take all your money if you were able to call the cops?

60 Minutes did the same thing, blasting away at anyone who used Oxycontin, showed how it would totally ruin your life, you would lose your job, family, home, car and end up on some street corner waiting to "Score"

WebMd tore them up to the point they actually did a retraction and if you watch 60 Minutes, that is almost never done!

WebMd went on to say that those in need of a medication do NOT get high as when a non-injured person takes their prescribed dosage. It does NOT turn you into some "Drug Seeker" 60 Minutes in their retraction interviewed several folks, one a Woman in her late Sixties that was driving 45 minutes to work everyday and was so happy she could simply and un-impared, return to work!

"If It Bleeds It Leads" is and has been the drive behind what we are shown on TV for News. The percentages of violent crime may have gone up in the last five years by 15% but the reporting of violent crimes has gone up 500%! Fact! All in a part to keep us Paranoid, they know what they are doing. Your Neighbor gets robbed (Someone's Neighbor ALWAYS gets robbed!) and the sale of home security systems sky-rockets! Fact! I used to sell them at a 400% Mark-Up (The Company's Price, not mine!) that had doubled from the year before. Nothing beats each of us watching out for our Neighbors! Nothing! "Honey, I didn't know the Henderson's were moving, I thought they were on Vacation, there's a Big Truck and a whole crew and they are working really fast too, Why don't they have a name on their truck, we might want to hire them?"

Madman, Mark

i know this guy is just a go between and i'm pretty sure that they'd know i reported him. i'm sure who the "godfather" is as he lives on my floor and i see the number of visitors there. i've had to report families for child abuse as a SW, but i'm concerned about this. the bldg. manager is not that bright. i have to really think this through.

Wow Serenity that is scary. Makes me angry would love to know where they get their drugs. I'm not naive I understand but its people like that putting us all at risk.

I am sick of the attack on medication. The attack should be on the abuser.
I'm betting the Dr. has his vice. Idiot, favorite word for the day here.
How can doctors, supposedly educated not know the difference.
Its coming out that doctors were not trained in or for ongoing pain. So what are they left to believe? If they don't have an education about it & the treatment they should shut their mouths.

God forbid they admit they don't know something.
I have thought over & over again about taking some of our worse days & taping it so these idiots can see what true chronic pain is all about. Lets see if they have the nerve to say we should go without treatment.

I know the bad days are not anything a non CPer would imagine.
I'd like to see how Dr. Drew would comment after America gets a peek at what real pain is all about.

My PCP summed it up, he said " If I break my arm or someone else its going to hurt pretty bad, but we know it will heal"
You on the other hand know this is your life. You must wonder what it will be like in 5yrs" "It must worry you"
That's a doctor. He does not prescribe my medication & doubt he would with all the hype but he gets it.

Its all about $$$ & fame. He could care less about anyone suffering.

Poor Whitney, already aiming at her. What if she died of something more natural? I realize the chances but still, how hurtful would that be to the family?
I am so sick of it all. Honest to god its time to go after the offenders & not those who suffer.
Sammy

thanks sammy, i looked up the drug task force online. this guy just saw what was moved in - not that much, but some good stuff that could be sold. i think he meant well, but i would really like the person behind it. i'm a minority here - being white and educated, please no offense, but that's the demographics.
i know what they're doing to WH is totally unfair and they just want to jump on meds even if they were justified. i hide mine every time i leave. i just want to live quietly and build my little nest. there have been dozen of gang killings since i've moved here - 3 months ago. i don't want to have people see the police come here or jeopardize my own treatment. i'm stuck thinking about this and trying to do what i can while this turns over in my mind.

Serenity........move to a more Serene place if you have half a chance!

My "In-Home Assistant was amazed when we sat down to watch TV that night and I started playing a recording of him stealing my Drugs six times within one week. Lot's of blushing and apologies but I demanded he leave that very hour as his name was not on my lease, he had no legal rights to stay and didn't pay any of the bills! I demanded he immediately repay me for my out of pocket meds then leave or I would report him to his Agency who fired him immediately as it even showed him ingesting the Oxy's,

He left just short of my calling the Cops and did pay me for whatever amount I saw fit. I reported him to both the Agencywho fired him immediately as it even showed him ingesting the Oxy's AND going through my Wallet and his Family who were good friends of mine and when they saw the recording, they refused to allow him to crash at their houses until he got on his feet. He needed a place and I needed In-Home Assistance, $45- is well worth the cost of a decent digital wireless camera!

Be safe, be...........Serene! You need that! You deserve that!

Madman, Mark

Serenity- you just keep YOURSELF safe! If you feel comfortable reporting it anonymously, see if there are any tipster lines in your area. You're right in that that anyone seeing you with police is going to know. And beyond that, it's just hearsay and a lawyer would likely get it thrown out, and that's IF they'd even arrest the guy. And maybe they guy, in HIS mind, thought he was doing you a favor by helping your pain?

Regarding the dealer in your building- have police ever asked you about him/her? That's so scary! Just what you need in addition to CP- a drug dealer living in your building. That said, if there's ever a bust, and people there are working for said dealer, you might find yourself being interrogated. I'd keep your pills in the correct prescription bottles and keep the pharmacy receipts.

That said, IF there's a way to report it SAFELY, such as at the police station, it's not a bad idea. If you can help them get the dealer out, it might be worth it, but it depends on staying anonymous. And if you get a chance to move to a safer building, I'd grab it! Having drug dealers around must be scary, and so many are also addicts so please be careful!

Your safety is #1- so stay safe! (And lock up your meds!)

Good Luck!

thanks thal, i know he's on my floor. he has a towel taped outside his door and tons of visitors and has confronted me when i had my door open waiting for food delivery asking if i was watching everyone. i'm cool with mj, but not pill selling. i'm still trying to figure out the rules here. it just seems like a different world and i'm tied to a lease. i can't afford renter's insurance at this point. and i do hide my meds every time i leave to the point i have to go find them. i'm trying to just focus on listing my vintage things, but now i have to worry about hiding them. i'm going to call the SW at my PMs office. two freaking buses, but i have to get support in person.

Good idea. I can't imagine hiding my meds every time- I'd lose them LOL! I mean, mine are hidden, but in the same place every time, and they're only hidden from my 2 year old. That's my biggest fear.

Just stay safe, Serenity! I'll be literally filleted here for going a bit OT but Hell, I started this thread so I can tell this story. ;)

It has to do with a drug abuser, which is what Dr. Drew is always talking about, so maybe it isn't SO OT as I'd 1st thought.

I had something (somewhat) similar happen to me when I was 18 in San Diego for my 1st Semester of college. I had an apt & needed a roommate. I advertised @ college for no smoking/no partying/absolutely no drugs roommate. I was so squeaky clean it was embarrassing.

So 1 guy (P) shows up for an interview, swears he's a strict Mormon so no substances & said he didn't do drugs, etc. I put his name on lease, & 3 weeks later I woke up to see him snorting cocaine off his surfboard! As a young kid from WI who had never seen any drug (except the MJ in CA that was everywhere to my asthmatic annoyance) I was scared that he'd flip out and kill me!

I remember sneaking back into my room & later when he was being nice & normal (he actually was a nice guy, VERY cute) I told him he had to get out. The guys who lived upstairs had my back if I needed them, but P said he understood. He wanted a few days to get a place but I said no. I was SO scared, all I knew of cocaine was Scarface!

My landlord hadn't submitted the lease so I was able to get rid of him, but then his checks to me bounced & a few weeks later I am visited by...the FBI! Turns out that P, nice Mormon boy that he was, had stolen a navy boat & skipped town after. I know there was more to it, that his Dad was an important guy -he & I had gotten to be friends & I knew about his family & those troubles- but here I am away from home for 1st time and the FBI is at my door!

They never came in, just asked a few questions and left a card that I had until my last move. Later, we found out he had escaped from a security drug place before stealing checks from his father (which is why the ones he gave me bounced- Daddy had enough of him!) He may or may not have been a student at my college (I wondered why he was home all the time!) so likely he got the flyer from a friend & what a better way to hide out, as someone's roommate.

I thought I knew this guy & ALMOST had gotten involved w/him but thought better of it as we were roomies. But there's no WAY I'd guess all the crap he'd done over the years. My upstairs neighbors were 3 guys, 2 worked at Miramar Naval Base (yep- I got to go to Top Gun the year after it came out!) and 2 were a couple, and they had warned me to do a background check, but I was 18! In fact they didn't like him at ALL & later a lot came out about P.

Still, one memory of a trip we took to Tijuana is one of my favorite memories! The guy had a problem, but since I didn't SEE that part of him, I actually liked him. Afterwards I was po'd and when I came home one day after he'd been kicked out to find him waiting for me I was nasty to him and I saw I hurt his feelings.

He asked me if anyone had asked about him & saw by my face that they had. He tried to explain it off but oddly, all I could think of was that I'd allowed him to doggiesit my most favorite dog, the luv of my life at the time, and what if he'd left his drugs out & she had died? THAT is where my mind was at 18.

He did give me some cash towards the checks that had bounced and got the rest of his stuff, and then tried to hug me goodbye, but I wouldn't hug him. The kid (and he WAS only 20) HAD done a lot of bad things, but he WAS a human being. I'm still ashamed of that to this day- I didn't hug him. I was so angry!

And I was of the Just Say No generation and our school had scared us to DEATH about drugs! And cocaine? To me, that was the scariest drug I'd heard of, except in a book I'd read where they used LSD.

Drug addicts/users/abusers- whatever you want to call them ARE breaking the law. But I got to see BOTH sides of P and his life and I still wonder if he straightened out, or ended up in the brig. So while I disapprove of drug use and am angry @ the people who do it and make it harder for CP patients, I CAN empathize to the human part of them. Dr. Drew can't.

So that's my story and while it was a bit OT, as the OP in this thread, I think it's okay. Plus it KIND of works in with Serenity's story. Okay, I said KIND OF! ;)