#its not their fault that media corporations are trying to cut corners and make a profit and that often results in predictable

[captainkirkk]

Sometimes forget that I've carefully cultivated my tumblr experience so it's full of people who have seen the rise and fall of a hundred fandoms and their associated drama, so now they want to just sit in their corner of the internet like a grandparent that's raised 10 kids and just wants to spend their golden years feeding birds and doing sudokus

And then I go on tiktok and see people who are fully convinced that massive media corporations are going to make their gay OTPs canon, who fully believe that the fandom's nuanced theories about the next season must be true, and I realise how new the fandom over on tiktok is. The light is still in their eyes. Makes me feel like a kid again.

[ecotone99]

[SP] The Great Easter Egg Crisis of 2020

The old woman sat at a high-rise bar, looking out over the sprawling city below. A fat cigar hung from her lips. She took a deep drag, the smart smoke working into her lungs, repairing damage from a lifetime of breathing polluted air.

Her unwanted companion stood silently. Just another rich kid. But one waiting expectantly for an answer.

“That was a long time ago, and I’ve done my time. How’d you track me down anyway?”

The kid skirted the question. “It’s a school project. I’m trying to put together a story. Something gritty yet intimate.”

She inhaled again. “It’s all in the archives somewhere. Go digging.”

The kid slowly shook his head. “Without the personal details, it’s just old history.”

She looked the kid over. Why not. If she could get something out of it, anyway.

“Buy me a drink. Top shelf.”

The kid nodded reluctantly.

May as well go all out. She gestured over a robot bartender and ordered the most expensive thing on the menu. The robot dispensed it on the spot, ice cold in a tall glass.

She savoured a mouthful. It was excellent. She could feel the virotherapy agents working almost immediately, massaging at decades of DNA damage. It wouldn’t last, but sure as hell felt good.

The kid looked at her expectantly.

She sighed. “You know about the outbreak in 2020? Covid-19. For some it was the end. For others, a new beginning. I saw it as a chance to make money. A lot of money.”

She took another drag on the cigar, and washed it down with more of the drink. “SARS. Swine Flu. Ebola. We’d heard it all before, and the threat of a pandemic seemed almost routine. Life was calm at first, but slowly the hysteria crept in. People hoarding food. Stockpiling toilet paper. Ridiculous stuff. Each little crisis fueled by social media. It’s different these days, but back then people didn’t understand the risks of living your life online. Mob mentality took over. It quickly became chaos.”

She paused, trying to remember the exact wording. “A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals.”

The kid looked at her, impassive. Too young to understand by about a century.

“It’s a quote. Look it up.” The kids eyes went a little dimmer as he accessed the ‘net in his head. She interrupted and the kid snapped back to reality. “Do it later.”

She continued on. “So we got an idea. I suppose I should say I got an idea, but it took a team of us to pull off. Most were in it for the money. Some just wanted to cause trouble. That was a thing, back then. Coronavirus was our tinder, and fear of missing out was our spark. Little ripples of panic were already in effect. Shortages would come and go, stock prices jumped up and down. But how could we make it work in our favour?”

She stared, waiting until the kid answered. “Easter Eggs. I know that bit.”

She growled back. “You really don’t. There’s nothing like it anymore. It was a cluster fuck of corporations bastardising ancient beliefs for profit. Pointless conspicuous consumption in chocolate form.”

The kid retreated into his head, looking for meaning in the unfamiliar words. “Consumer whores, right?”

The old woman laughed, and coughed, and laughed again. “Exactly.”

She took another swig of the drink, calming her throat. “The only thing more powerful than consumerism was fear. And the world was primed for it. Outbreaks in almost every city. Shortages, both real and imagined. And just a few weeks out from a holiday celebrated by half the world. You’ve never eaten an easter egg, I presume?”

The kid shrugged. “I tried to recreate one with the food printers. I don’t get the appeal.”

She nodded along. “Either do I kid. Always hated Easter. Maybe that’s why I didn’t feel bad about what we did. Those damn eggs. Churned out by the millions in China. Each one trapping a little breath of air inside. We weren't sure the plan would work, but in the end it was easy. A faked video of a sick worker coughing over an easter egg production line. And a single tweet.”

She shook her head, breathing out through her nose. “We thought we’d need to push to get it viral. But no. Society was ready to bubble over. The media ran with it - a precious holiday was under attack. People were angry at Asia, angry at the government, angry at corporations, angry at each other. And we were ready. We seeded counter campaigns supporting businesses of our choosing. ‘Buy safe, buy local’. Anything forgein was boycotted. People tried to stock up on Easter eggs, beating the rush. Production was increased, but prices quickly climbed out of control. The savvy ones looked ahead, wondering about chocolate futures and next year's eggs. They invested, and stock prices grew. As the rest of the market tanked, our stocks were a shining beacon of hope. The fear of missing out kicked in even harder and the prices doubled. Then tripled. Along the way, the supposedly contaminated eggs all tested clean, and the video was declared a fake. But it was too late.”

She smiled at a plan gone even better than expected. “By Easter, the chosen companies were trading at one hundred times our buy in. We’d leveraged every dollar we had on the shares and were filthy rich. We cashed out, ready to disappear before it all came crashing down. We’d defrauded the world, and thought we’d gotten away with it.”

The old woman clenched her jaw, wrinkles deepening. “What happened next was pure bad luck. We couldn’t have known and it sure as hell wasn’t our fault. The chocolate in the ‘safe’ eggs was contaminated. The incubation was slow, but the mortality rate high. They didn’t even know what it was at first. Panic fueled speculation spun a thousand stories. Toxins from manufacturers cutting corners to meet demand. A Coronavirus mutation. Some sinister and ghastly biological weapon. People even looked to the skies, thinking of extraterrestrial horrors.”

She took a deep breath before continuing. “It was the global pandemic everyone had been afraid of, and had a terrifying fatality rate. Containment was impossible, hospitals were overwhelmed, and nothing slowed the spread. The death toll rose staggeringly fast. One hundred thousand. Five hundred thousand. By July there was over a billion dead, with no end in sight. No treatment, no vaccine, no cure. The old and the sick succumbed more easily, but it took young and healthy too. By the time the outbreak worked its way around the globe, two and a half billion people had died.”

She blinked, pushing back tears as she relived the memories. “I know you’ve seen the pictures. Watched the videos. But you can’t understand what it was like. Two and half billion people dead. Everyone lost someone close to them. Everyone.”

She stopped to take a deep breath “Have you experienced death? In your happy, sheltered life, has anyone died?”

The kid looked uncomfortable. “No. I had an aunt who tried to stop her treatments once, but the family wouldn't allow that.”

She looked at the kid with dull envy. “There had never been a tragedy like this. So much fear, so much anger. The world was drawn together, and grieved and raged and howled for blood with one voice. Our little Easter Egg fraud was uncovered, and we were hunted down. We burnt through our fortunes trying to run, trying to hide. But the world was single minded and we had to pay."

She wiped at her cheek. “I don’t know how I was kept alive until the trial. None of my co-conspirators made it. Death was too good for me, it seems. I was at the center of it all. Five billion survivors, cursing my name, demanding I suffer. They called me Patient Zero. That’s almost funny now.”

She looked the kid in the eyes. “I was terrified I would be tortured. Kept alive to feel the world's pain. I prayed for death. In some way what happened next was a miracle. It’s kind of fitting, don’t you think? A God’s honest Easter resurrection.”

She took a long slow drag of her cigar, blowing the spent smoke towards the kid. “Some people called them Angels. Friends and family, returned to the living. Others saw them as demons. That fitted better. The walking undead, climbing out of the ground. We’d spent half our lives obsessing over zombies and here they were. The reality was brutal, and another billion people died before they were stopped. Entire countries fell apart. The world staggered, and it felt like nothing could ever be the same again.”

She looked down at her drink, not sure where to next. “But humans are resilient, and we recovered. It almost seems trivial now. Nearly half the world wiped out, but that only took the population back fifty years. Life continued on, damaged but not broken. What little authority remained kept me in prison, but that was as much for my protection as it was a punishment."

She took one last swig. “I know some people see it as a blessing. Heaven on Earth, they say. I know I wouldn’t be alive today without the medical advances cajoled out of corpses that refuse to stay dead. Eternal youth.” She scowled. “At least for those who can afford it.”

She put down her empty glass, looking into it. “That’s all the memories you get for one drink. What’s this gritty yet intimate story of yours going to be called, anyway?”

The kid was already retreating inside his own head, but focused back momentarily.

“The Great Easter Egg Crisis of 2020”

“Jesus, that’s horrifying.” She turned back to the window, not really seeing the world outside.

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[takenews-blog1]

LG V30+ Review

New Post has been published on https://takenews.net/lg-v30-review/

LG V30+ Review

LG is a perennial underdog within the smartphone business, always overshadowed by Samsung and others. To its credit score, the corporate is aware of this, and retains attempting new approaches which may enchantment to area of interest audiences – issues that capitalise on its in-house experience and that no different firm is doing. That is how we received the gloriously impractical G Flex (Evaluate), the V-series with twin screens, and final 12 months’s modular G5 (Evaluate). LG additionally hopes that options equivalent to high-quality audio playback and recording will entice consumers who actually worth that sort of factor above all else. Sadly, most of its gadgets have tough edges, and have not been priced competitively.

In relation to flagships, LG has had a cut up technique for the previous few years. Its G-series telephones, often launched round March, are extra typical flagships, whereas the V-series fashions launched in the direction of the top of the 12 months are extra experimental and offbeat. Final 12 months’s V20 (Evaluate) had a secondary display, twin cameras, strengthened aluminium physique and high-end audio. We did not thoughts having any of these options, however they did not precisely make us wish to run out and purchase it both.

This 12 months there is a new technique at play. The principle options of the LG V30+ are its top-end and give attention to design – in reality, this is perhaps one of the best trying telephone that LG has ever produced. May this be the one which lastly propels LG to the highest of the gross sales charts? We won’t wait to seek out out.

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The LG V30+ utterly sheds any similarity it might need had with its chunky predecessors. That is an extremely slick telephone, with curved glass in entrance and on the again, and a cultured steel rim that screams luxurious. The place the G6 (Evaluate) was bland and thick, the V30+ is gently curved and completely proportioned. The development high quality is impeccable, and this telephone feels each bit pretty much as good within the hand because the Samsung Galaxy S8 (Evaluate) and iPhone eight (Evaluate). It is an enormous leap for LG, particularly contemplating how old style the V20 felt.

Our evaluate unit was the silver model, which has a really refined texture beneath the rear glass that catches the sunshine as you flip the telephone round in your palms. The one downside with this design is that each the entrance and rear are extraordinarily slippery – the V30+ slid out of our trouser pockets on a couple of event, particularly once we had been sitting in a automobile, and would not keep placed on any floor that was even barely inclined. We had been afraid of scuffs and scratches displaying, however that did not transform an issue throughout our evaluate interval, no less than.

The tall display on the entrance is surrounded by black borders; narrower on the perimeters than on the highest and backside. Total the look is kind of minimalistic. The display has rounded corners that match the curve of the body, similar to the one on the G6, and LG says that this makes the body stronger. LG has used the identical kind and measurement of display on the V30+ as on the Google Pixel 2 XL (Evaluate), and whereas this telephone manages to be much less tall, the tradeoff is that does not have front-facing stereo audio system.

The facility button is on the again, which is LG’s one constant model differentiator. We personally discover this inconvenient, however with face recognition and gesture shortcuts, it is simpler to reside with than earlier than. There is a fingerprint sensor on the facility button itself, and no less than that winds up being the place it must be. Above that’s the twin digital camera bump which fortunately protrudes lower than 1mm. Although you possibly can’t see it, the LG V30+ is IP68 licensed for water and dirt resistance. The one different fascinating level to notice is the “Made in India” stamp beneath LG’s brand.

The quantity buttons are on the left, and there is a hybrid dual-SIM tray on the precise. There is a USB Sort-C port and a single speaker cutout on the underside, and a three.5mm audio socket on the highest. Within the field, LG features a microfibre material, an outsized Fast Cost three.Zero-compliant charger, a USB Sort-C cable, a nice-looking headset, and the same old leaflets.

In some nations, LG sells the V30 and V30+ by way of totally different carriers, although there are zero beauty variations between them. They each have the identical processor and display. The V30, which has not been launched in India, has 64GB of storage and would possibly or may not ship with B&O Play headphones within the field, relying on nation. What it’s essential know is that the V30+ which has been launched in India has 128GB of storage, and also you get LG’s personal Quadplay headset which can also be touted as extraordinarily top quality. These are the only real variations between fashions.

It is also straightforward to see that there are a number of similarities between the LG V30/ V30+ and the Google Pixel 2 XL, which after all LG manufactures for Google. They’ve almost similar specs, proper all the way down to the 6-inch pOLED display that LG developed itself. The panel has a decision of 1440×2880 and helps the HDR-10 commonplace. It is extraordinarily crisp and vivid, and there is an always-on mode that allows you to see the time and notifications when the telephone is in standby, with out taking an excessive amount of of successful to battery life.

Nonetheless, the massive downside is that the V30+ suffers from precisely the identical color shifting points because the Pixel 2 XL. Simply by tilting the telephone facet to facet, you possibly can see the color tone change. Whites tackle a pink or blue tint relying on the angle you maintain the telephone at. That is one thing we’ll pay a number of consideration to when evaluating the usability and efficiency of the V30+.

The processor on the coronary heart of the V30+ is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835. LG missed out on this when it determined to ship the G6 forward of its competitors, so this truly makes the V30+ LG’s first true flagship telephone of the 12 months. Sadly, Qualcomm has simply introduced the Snapdragon 845 which is able to undoubtedly energy a lot of the subsequent wave of flagship telephones only a few months from now, and this telephone may really feel dated then.

There’s 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. You may add as much as 2TB extra utilizing a microSD card, although you may must sacrifice a second SIM due to the telephone’s hybrid dual-SIM design. After all 4G and VoLTE are supported. The battery capability is a beneficiant 3300mAh, and wi-fi charging in addition to Fast Cost three.Zero are supported. You get all the mandatory requirements together with Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.Zero, NFC, and GPS.

On the software program facet, you get Android 7.1.2 which is a little bit of a disappointment contemplating how related this telephone is to the Pixel 2 XL. LG’s customized UI has a number of choices, however can also be a bit overbearing with fixed popups and tutorials for issues as primary as turning Wi-Fi on. The message alerts and different system notifications are monumental. Proper after the primary boot, we acquired a warning to not pop the telephone’s battery out in case the telephone turns into unresponsive (which is hardly reassuring, and inconceivable anyway as a result of the battery is non-removable), and the primary time we used the digital camera we needed to dismiss an countless stream of popup “explanations” for a number of buttons and modes.

You may select between single-layer and double-layer UIs, in addition to a easy mode with giant panel icons and wider spacing. You may change themes in addition to the system font. There are templates for the always-on show providing you with a alternative of clock fashion and personalised messages to show.

LG enables you to swap across the order of the Android navigation buttons and even add a further shortcut of your selecting. There is a Floating Bar which is basically a virtualised model of the LG V20’s second display. You may drag it to any a part of the display and swipe by way of panels to indicate shortcuts to apps and contacts, screenshot instruments, and media playback controls. When gaming, you possibly can pull up one other toolbar that allows you to take screenshots and alter efficiency settings.

The Settings app is subdivided into tabbed pages making it a bit of arduous to know the place to seek out every thing. You may faucet the display twice (LG needs you to “knock”, however faucets work simply high quality) to wake the telephone and in addition to fall asleep, which barely makes up for the facility button being on the again when the telephone is mendacity on a desk. One new addition is face recognition to unlock the telephone, and similar to on the OnePlus 5T (Evaluate) and Oppo F5 (Evaluate), you’re warned that it’s much less safe than different strategies. It may possibly work even with the display off, so you do not have to wake the telephone first, however will fail in low mild and is unavailable when the battery could be very low.

Evidently, with like this, the V30+ was constantly snappy and responsive. It would not get too sizzling when confused, and there is nothing that we will actually fault – aside from the display’s color shifting downside. This may be handled when watching films, so long as you keep completely nonetheless, however with video games that use the telephone’s use movement sensors for management, the shifts as you flip and tilt the telephone might be jarring. This can be a actually aggravating flaw that feels much more irritating due to how good this telephone is in any other case.

We received scores of 143,739 in AnTuTu; 1,925 and 6,174 in Geekbench’s single-core and multi-core checks; 37,183 in 3DMark Ice Storm Limitless; and 55fps in GFXBench’s T-rex check. We have seen greater scores from different telephones based mostly on the Snapdragon 835. You will get higher framerates in video games by manually decreasing the output decision, both throughout the Settings app or utilizing LG’s sport overlay menu.

The only speaker on the V30+ is loud and crisp, however we’re a bit of disenchanted to lose the front-facing stereo audio system that the Pixel 2 XL has. We discovered ourselves muffling the grille on the underside fairly often when taking part in video games with the telephone in each palms. So far as the much-touted audiophile options go, the quad DACs do appear to make a distinction. You may flip the characteristic on or off by way of a toggle within the Fast Settings panel, and alter presets within the Settings app. We tried a number of FLAC information and streamed some Apple Music tracks as effectively, and located that sound was deeper and richer than we’re used to.

The bundled earphones had been a notch above the same old high quality you’d get in a telephone’s field, however weren’t price getting very enthusiastic about. It was arduous to get an excellent seal with the included rubber eartips, and we predict anybody who cares about audio would select one thing higher.

Battery life turned out to be fairly good. We had been in a position to make use of this telephone fairly closely, with a lot of pictures plus a while spent taking part in video games and streaming audio and video, and nonetheless made it to the top of a day with out feeling an excessive amount of anxiousness. Our HD video loop check ran for 12 hours, 14 minutes. We additionally noticed that the V30+ might be charged from zero to 100 p.c in roughly two hours.

Faucet to see full-sized LG V30+ digital camera samples

We have seen a number of several types of dual-camera configurations on telephones – some with one zoom lens, some with a depth sensor, some with unbiased RGB and mono cameras, and a few with enhanced low-light sensors. LG’s alternative of 1 commonplace and one wide-angle lens appears much less helpful than any of these choices. Certain, you may get some good pictures of enormous teams, or take panorama images with out having to step too far again, however conditions when that may be useful do not actually come up that always. As one other consequence, LG has been unable to implement a portrait mode, which is now changing into one thing that individuals particularly search for in a top-tier smartphone.

The digital camera app is full of options and modes, not all of that are helpful. LG additionally gives the selection between commonplace four:three images and 18:9 crops which might look higher on the telephone’s display however are in any other case of restricted utility. You may slide the shutter button up or all the way down to zoom, which is neat, however if you happen to hesitate even a second you may wind up taking a burst of frames as an alternative. There’s additionally pointless muddle within the type of a shortcut bar that allows you to add images to social media posts or word apps straight.

There are some fascinating collage and body choices, however essentially the most notable mode is what LG calls Cine Video. This has two elements – one enables you to faucet anyplace on display after which easily zoom in to that portion, which may look fairly slick, and the second is a carousel of real-time filters equivalent to Pop-art, Noir, Melodrama, and Summer time Blockbuster to present your movies a enjoyable spin.

Faucet to see full-sized LG V30+ digital camera samples

When it comes to photograph high quality, we had been a bit of underwhelmed. We weren’t all the time happy with the standard of textures and color replica that we noticed in our photograph samples, in comparison with the usual set by different top-tier telephones in 2017. Daytime pictures taken with the first 16-megapixel f/1.6 digital camera had been very sharp, however textures regarded synthetic and overprocessed in close-ups. In low mild, images had been grainy and white steadiness was arduous to get proper, though numerous element did come by way of. Photographs taken with the secondary 13-megapixel f/1.9 sensor and its wide-angle lens got here out darker. The identical objects proper in entrance of us had been a lot much less distinct. As with the V20, we discovered that we all the time wanted to double-check which digital camera was lively, and that made us miss spontaneous pictures generally.

Video recording goes as much as 30fps at 4K, and you’ll swap between cameras in the course of a shoot. The transition is abrupt, and we’d have most well-liked a second lens that may zoom in slightly than out, in lots of conditions. Video high quality is nice, and we had no complaints. The Cine Video modes are enjoyable however a bit gimmicky, and we might all the time desire to use results after taking pictures, so the unique is preserved. You may flip movies or bursts into GIFs with one faucet, which some would possibly discover useful.

Verdict Total, it is clear that LG has managed to enhance by leaps and bounds this 12 months, first with the G6 and now with the V30+. It seems to be phenomenally good and can enchantment to individuals who love having a number of options to mess around with. After all, there are nonetheless tough edges to be labored on, largely by way of the person expertise. There is no level in having a fantastic telephone with an immersive show if that display itself is flawed. Equally, having dozens of digital camera modes and gear ought to be secondary to the precise output high quality. That is precisely the sort of gadget that appears dazzling at first look and has a formidable spec sheet, however actually wants a while spent with it to uncover its true nature.

One other factor effectively price mentioning is that LG has actually accomplished effectively by way of pricing. The V30+ has been launched at a a lot lower cost than the V20 and even the G6, and early consumers get a free wi-fi charger. As such, it’s slotted neatly between the OnePlus 5T and the Samsung Galaxy S8. It is also considerably cheaper than the 128GB Pixel 2 XL, and all you actually miss out on are Google’s AI options and digital camera.

If you’re contemplating shopping for the LG V30+, we’d strongly counsel that you simply first attempt it out at a bodily retail retailer to see if you happen to can reside with the display. If it is not an issue, you need to be fairly pleased with this telephone.

[listeningpostnola-blog]

July’s Survey Results

In 2016, there were more drug related deaths than murders in New Orleans. Mostly due to opioids. Mayor Landrieu says he has a plan to deal with the growing national opioid epidemic.

1. What evidence of the opioid epidemic have you seen? How has it impacted you?

Have seen used syringes on the ground, in my neighborhood & last week, a man was seemingly unconscious, on my front steps, w his eyes glazed over & wasn’t…

TV, but I think the true extent is not accurately reported in local media.

Only heard of kids dying for r no reason

No impact.

Mayor =\= national. Mitch needs to focus on safety in the City before he starts tackling national issues.

No

None fortunately

Not personally yet, but I know it's here. I used to think drug addiction was fueled by despair, but now the chemistry of these new opioids it's frightening. Just a few days even if it's a legitimate need (meaning Rx) you're body is hooked. And it's just too easy, the pills too available.

Doctor I worked with just got arrested w 6000 pain pills and a gun!

I have not personally been impacted. Thank God!!

I used to have an addiction treatment center as a client so I am aware of the opioid crisis but I haven’t been personally affected. I don’t have any friends or family members who have been addicted.

Have family and friends who've both had issues.

I've seen a guy on my street corner a few times strung out, laying like a zombie in the sun. I haven't been directly impacted, but after reading this article, I feel like it's just a matter of time. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/06/05/the-addicts-next-door

My brother was an opioid addict. Question: why didn't everyone show same concern during crack epidemic as they do for opioids? Eg federally funded treatments and "listening tours"? Oh right because crack was in black communities and opioids in white communities. Got it.

Friends of mine who work in the service industry in the quarter say opioid use is rampant among their peers. A high school classmate of mine recently died from an overdose. She was 27, engaged and had just finally gotten her degree a week or two prior. That's the scariest part to me- opioids killing relatively functional people who'd only think of themselves as recreational users rather than addicts.

I'm a prosecutor in a city court in a small town on the MS coast. 20 folks who have been in Court for various minor charges related to their addiction, ie. shoplifting, RX forgery, etc have died in the past 2 years. It's tragic what the corporate distributors of these drugs - including doctors - have allowed to go on in the name of profits. No conscience. It makes one despair.

I haven't seen any direct evidence, but I think that perhaps the uptick in broad daylight robberies in areas where there is the likelihood that the act will be taped by numerous cameras may be linked to addicts desperate for money.

The opioid epidemic is a result of the HMOs such a signal and what have you that said all these kids need to be on ritalin or Adderall Concerta whatever because they have ADHD so bad and me personally I was put on Ritalin when I was 5 and I've been on it ever since and my body my brain cannot produce serotonin on its own because of dr. Walker when I was five a Cigna pediatrician my parents I don't blame them they just did with the doctor said I blame doctor on the HMO Cigna the way I got hooked on opioids is because of running out of my usual medication my the Adderall that I have to take to produce serotonin nor dopamine I am a victim of the hmos and of the times because they prescribed it to me when I was five years old a little boy who gets put on Ritalin and the rest of his life gets ruined before it gets started it's not fair that I have to take these medications to live a normal life and it isn't fair to be treated this way nor is it fair to penalize and scrutinize me for being a quote-unquote addict because of someone's thought they could make good money off of my generation and keep them on drugs the rest of their lives why do these are dangerous drugs and I hope there's another 9/11 the government needs to go I know there's a heaven and there's a hell cuz this is just a holding pen this Earth and I believe the United States government is the evil empire because they let it go on death and hatred to the United States government and anyone who works for it

One of my best friends died from an overdose last April. A couple others have danced with Mr. Brownstone and lived to tell the tale, but only with family support.

As a practicing pharmacist, I have filled opioid prescriptions for questionable "patients."

I've seen clients and friends die

Percocet. Molly Percocet.

4 people I know have had drug and alcohol related deaths in the past decade. Once they wade into the deep end, it's too late.

I keep hearing about a heroine epidemic.

None not at all

No

2. What would you do if someone you knew was addicted to opioids, like heroin or oxycodone?

I would recommend treatment/rehab.

I would do what my friend's grandfather did and take them to our camp in Manchac and work them until drugs were you of their system.

I would try to get them to go to a treatment facility. The problem is there are not enough and Trump's plan cuts funding to DHHS. So no help in site. Also trump cuts funding for the nurse workforce act. He is the first person to do this in over 50 years.

Try to get them help.

I'd recommend help

Get them into treatment. With the potency and availability of these drugs I don't know if people can do it alone.

Honestly don't know

Probably insist they go to rehab or if they were not able to care for themselves anymore take the legal steps to have them committed to a hospital

I would try to get them to get help at an addiction treatment center or from a doctor who specializes in treating addiction.

Help find them medical help!

I'm not sure. I feel like I'd try to get them into treatment ASAP. But that can be costly

My brother was addicted. We put him in rehab. He’s still on the suboxone (prescription meds, like methodone)

I'd insist they get treatment and do everything I could to be supportive

Get them into treatment - but the prognosis for these folks is bleak. Treatment for this addiction has a huge failure rate - 80-90 percent.

Might try to get them help but every situation like this I know of eventually fails the addict. Cynically, I think it's almost impossible to solve.

Accept them for who they are and embrace them for who they are because it's not all of always our fault when we're children were told to take these medications and we took them and now look where we are I hope there's another 9/11 only this time I need Donald Trump and the rest of its his cabinet to Parish with him. Point in case being you don't ostracize somebody because they have to be an addict because they got put on Ritalin when they were only five 5 years old I was a little boy and my parents still scrutinizing ostracize me but it's they let it happen and it's not fair to be labeled like that and expected to be sober after 27 years of being prescribed ritalin and adderall and everything in between for my whole life. I like to accept responsibility for my actions but honest to God when one's brain can produce serotonin or dopamine on its own and I have to resort to something like that I should be living off of a settlement Sic semper tyrannis death and hatred to the United States government death and hatred to the New Orleans Police Department. they're a bunch of corrupt f****** pigs as it is the only good cop is a dead one who would ostracize and arrest me and have me put in prison for being an addict because the circumstances were went beyond my control from as being a little boy five years old and was put on good one and I've been on it ever since

Talk to them about getting clean. I also couldn't trust them until they were clean.

Refer to qualified help.

Advise rehab or NA...but really, I don't believe there is anything others can do. Pray if your religious...cross fingers if you’re superstitious.

Get them far, far away in rehab.

Stay away from them

3. What strategies do you think would help communities better deal with drug epidemics?

Greater funding for treatment programs, & rehab facilities.

Acknowledgement

Illogical and discompassionate

Diversion programs for users--not just for opioids. Users of Crack cocaine and other addictive illegal drugs should be treated with compassion.

Work with the docs to stop prescribing so many pills. And then get community groups to organize and educate ourselves on the signs of addiction. And lobby for treatment programs. Not sure if churches could provide treatment like they used to provide adult day care. And clean needle exchange and I think it's Narcan in the first responders supplies.

Treatment

More mental health facilities and clinics where they could safely turn themselves in.

The biggest problem right now is that addiction doctors and professionals don’t agree on the causes or treatments of addiction. That being said, there has to be access to affordable treatment and care. This means addiction treatment has to be covered by insurance (and Medicaid) with little or no out of pocket cost. Drugs like Buprenorphine or Naltrexone need to be readily available and affordable as well.

More free medical clinics that have strong proven strategies for helping with addiction.

JOBS! And good housing. When people aren't idle, and feeling thrown away, most of them can move in a positive direction

Treat drugs— all drugs, not just those that white people use— as public health issue not a criminal one

Better mental health services, more outpatient rehab and support services for people who don't have access to expensive residential treatment facilities, accessible awareness and prevention programs for at risk populations, more rehabilitative group homes with employment opportunities.

To be honest - not much a community can do. 35 years prosecuting drug offenses has accomplished NOTHING. Look at what was going on by the DEA - agents were dealing; drugs are sold in jails and prisons. If someone has a good idea of what to do I'd like to hear it myself.

Legalization has worked in other countries. I believe Portugal for one. Instead of forcing addicts to buy and use stuff that can be laced with deadly additives, they could get their safe fix and also not have to rob and steal.

For the government the pharmaceutical lobbyists they take responsibility for what they did and accept us addicts for Who We Are because it isn't fair the circumstances were Beyond My Control I was only 5 and my parents should be held accountable for their ignorance

Education for the kids, methodone clinics and needle disposal clinics for the junkies.

Continue with current efforts, such as the prescription monitoring program, link PMP among more states, and take action against providers who use their credentials to sell unwarranted prescriptions for narcotics.

Stop the drugs from getting to people. Legalize marijuana and let people get high more safely.

Create the dangers of the awareness.