One Smack Talker to “ledger-child.jpg”

1. Sandman Talks Smack:
   February 6th, 2008 at 1:56 pm e

   Could Heath Ledgers death been prevented if Pot were legal?

   The tragic news of yet another young celebrity’s death by overdose of prescription drugs brings in to question (again) the practice of prohibition on pot, in favor of legal drugs. If Heath had easy access to weed would he still have taken oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam, and doxylamine all at the same time? The poor guy was just trying to get some sleep so he took what he could get and it cost him his life.

   Pot verses misused prescription drugs
   Yes, it is a leap to say that pot could have saved Ledger from a poly-drug overdose. However, lets look at some anecdotal evidence: 1) the 6 drugs he took were prescribed for him by licensed doctors, but he had to *ask* for them thus he felt he needed them. 2) Pot overdoses are so rare as to be nonexistent. 3) Pot helps you relax and for some, it really helps them sleep. 4) To get pot, Ledger would have to buy it on the street or from a know ‘dealer’. This is not only impractical, it is impossible for most. The trade off was getting high and going to sleep with prescription drugs or taking something else. Our ridiculous prohibition laws probably kill many people with similar legal drug overdoses.

   Who am I to speak?
   I never liked alcohol so instead I smoked pot in college and really enjoyed it. I smoked 3 times a week and on weekends for at least 3 years but quit when I graduated. My GPA was 3.75. Once out of school, my career always required drug testing, so had to stop. It was not just the fear of getting caught with pot in my urine that kept me off; it was the morbid fear of buying it from criminals. Pot dealers are criminals and getting caught would end my career. Since I could no longer smoke, I took what was available to me, toxic alcohol. I gained weight and sacrificed at least 1 to 2 days a month to the hangover gods. No good comes from alcohol. Like Heath, I even misused my prescription Vicodin rather than drink as much. That was a little better but I terrified of an addiction.

   Why say anything?
   I’m a 45 year old banking executive responsible for over a billion dollars of customers money annually. About ten years ago, I was diagnosed with clinical obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) which, combined with stress, caused me to develop debilitating insomnia. Every part of my life was bad. I was prescribed, Prozac, Effexor, then later Zoloft and eventually Xanax (as needed). Speaking from DIRECT experience, these drugs are really awful. Impotence, mood swings, sluggishness and loss of appetite were the trade off so I could sleep 2 to 3 hours a night. Not to mention the cost. When the prescription drugs were doing there best, I was at my worse. I slept, but it was artificial sleep. The drugs were worse than the OCD it’s self. I decided to try pot again and to see if I could wean my self off the prescription drugs.

   Pot again
   I made some polite inquiries and found a friend of a friend that had a friend. I was so grateful that I did not have to go to a dark alley to get a quarter ounce that I volunteered a $500 ‘finders fee.’ On a Friday after work I smoked again for the first time in fifteen years. The difference was immediate. I slept that night, all night. It was not my usual Xanax, narco-sleep that made me wake up sweating; it was good, natural sleep. This was proof positive for me that all the other drugs had become unneeded. Everyone around the office noticed my changes immediately although I had to lie about the reason. In time, I felt comfortable enough to smoke 3 times a week. Of course, I would never smoke during work hours. In college I would smoke as a treat when I got my work done. For me, as for many, pot became a therapy. My wife noticed a major change in me as well. She knew about my experiment and was all for it since she believed that the pills were killing me. We even began to have more sex! I feel human again being off the prescription drugs. That quarter ounce lasted me 3 months. Now it is gone and all my symptoms are back.

   Conclusion
   People, young and old, misuse prescription drugs all the time. Humans need a release from our ‘modern’ lives. Don’t believe me? Go to any tavern or nursing home around cocktail hour. This has been true since man first came across rotten fruit, ate it and got a buzz. Poor Heath only provided what his body asked for –a respite from all the conscious stresses, but ‘doctors orders’ killed him. So the question becomes, is our medical system acknowledging the need for escape and prescribing drugs with the hope that they don’t get misused? Just because a doctor prescribes drugs, it does not make them safe or even desirable.

   I realize that the sigma associated with smoking pot is the main reason (probably the only reason) that decriminalization will not happen any time soon. It is my sincere hope that the next “Greatest Generation” the Baby Boomers will take a stand as they did in the sixties and lobby for change. They have the power, time and money to effect positive change.

   Pot is not the only answer but it is at least it is AN alternative to heavy medication and ultimately misuse. Decriminalize it, make it available via prescription. I think it would help many, many people (good and bad.) STOP making people criminals for using this therapeutic drug. May God bless and keep Heath Ledger’s family in their time of sorrow and pray our leaders finally acknowledge the reason for so many needless deaths to prescription drugs.