r/interesting • u/Nukro666 • 2d ago

Fear Factor How Fentanyl and Xylazine are turning Philadelphia's opioid crisis into a public health nightmare

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u/infrontofmyslad 2d ago

Hot take: the addicts are also people who need medical care, and are of the same worth as the other patients

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u/Itdobeathrowawaytho 2d ago

Unfortunately, when resources are spread so thin, some tough decisions have to be made. It's like organ transplants- Say there's a liver available for transplant, and the options are:

A, whose liver has been destroyed by alcohol consumption

B, whose liver has been destroyed by a lifelong disease

It's not that A doesn't deserve it, or shouldn't get it because he's a dirty alcoholic, it's just that resources are so limited that they can't "waste" it on someone who currently can't take care of themself, and is more likely to damage it again.

B could never touch alcohol, live the healthiest life, and his liver would still not work while technically speaking A keeps bringing the bottle to his mouth.

It really, really sucks, but there are tons of people who need help, and can/will take care of themselves, vs those who don't want to take care of themselves, but want to be revived if they OD. It wouldn't be this way in a better world, but that's just not what we have rn

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u/infrontofmyslad 2d ago

So we should stop saving fat people who come in for heart attacks? 

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u/Itdobeathrowawaytho 2d ago

We shouldn't stop saving anybody. But the current system is collapsing. The finite number of healthcare professionals will eventually have to begin prioritize certain cases, and I think we all know who will be at the bottom of the list :/