Wow, that is something. I imagine many many people who use opioids are self-medicating for one thing or another, huh.

I would worry about a third variable, that states with enlightened medical policies regarding marijuana would be more likely to have enlightened policies toward other drugs.

The article was about overdose deaths from prescribed opioid painkillers. I'm not sure what kind of enlightened policy could exist about that. Maybe I'm misunderstanding you.

I imagine many many people who use opioids are self-medicating for one thing or another, huh.

The article used data only on people with prescriptions, though it's obviously extremely possible to find a doctor who will write a prescription for opioids without too much diagnosing going on.

My dad has a lot of chronic pain, and takes a staggering amount of opioids. I'm not criticizing, because undertreated/untreated pain management is a legit problem in the medical field, and I'm glad he gets the medication he needs. But really, the amount of oxycodone he takes in one dose -- even though it's prescribed by his doctor -- is a little scary. If Ohio had a medical marijuana law, maybe he could cut back on the meds.

I'm not sure what I expected a site named Ravelry to be about, but it wasn't knitting.

But this brings up a question. Do ravel and unravel mean more or less the same thing? How can that be?

Do ravel and unravel mean more or less the same thing? How can that be?

In the same way that "cleave" can mean cut in two, or joined together.

The article was about overdose deaths from prescribed opioid painkillers. I'm not sure what kind of enlightened policy could exist about that.

Well for instance, I worked in inpatient pain management in the state of Washington, which had an elaborate system in place to pass patients up to expert oversight. Lots of training for physicians, and a strong message that if pain treatment with opioids was anything other than brief and uncomplicated you were at risk if you did not seek consultation. Lots of expert back-up for physicians.

That, and strong training to encourage adequate pain management acutely, so fewer people were drawn into long-term use. When physicians don't feel like they have expert back-up, they tend to under-medicate acutely.

When I moved back to the midwest, I was shocked to see that most pain management was done by family doctors and shady characters with offices in strip malls, with little state involvement unless there was a disaster. There were punitive responses in place if someone overdosed, but not a good structure for helping the physicians do a better job in the first place.

Most of the pain docs in Utah were shut down for iffy dealings, and yes, it's often an office in a strip mall. Hubby's doc was one of the few who was able to keep operating, and he went in regularly for screenings and consultation. They counted his pills to make sure he was only taking the prescribed dose, but he often didn't even fill the prescriptions.

He always tested positive for everything except THC. I told him he wasn't supposed to treat the list as a bucket list. He was offered cannabis oil but declined it, even though he said it would let him yell Bingo at his next test.

When I moved back to the midwest, I was shocked to see that most pain management was done by family doctors and shady characters with offices in strip malls, with little state involvement unless there was a disaster. There were punitive responses in place if someone overdosed, but not a good structure for helping the physicians do a better job in the first place.

Ah, I see what you mean. The study controlled for increased state oversight of pain management clinics as one factor. (There were other factors they controlled for as well.) That might not entirely cover what you discussed, but it sounds like it certainly helped the researchers adjust the results.

I want a cookie.

Not as a reward for accomplishment. I just want a cookie.

But I don't have any.

I have some. Cup your hands under any USB port on your computer and stand by for incoming Joe-Joe's.

Oh, man, I hope IT doesn't have cookies disabled!