A seasoned junkie who has stopped with heroin thanks to detox will also OD if he uses as much as his last hit before detox, your tolerance will be the same as going cold turkey.
The difference is the withdrawal symptoms are treated with medicine to
wean junkies off the rush heroin provides & eliminate all the various symptoms that will begin within' 12 hours of the last hit, and peak at the 2-3 day mark, which is why many people immediately relapse to kill the pain withdrawal causes.
When people with a heroin use disorder seek out formal treatment, medications may be used to reduce or eliminate the symptoms of withdrawal, making the detoxification process more comfortable. For instance, a person may be prescribed buprenorphine to treat the symptoms of withdrawal from opioids like heroin. In some instances, it can be used as a long-term maintenance drug.
Buprenorphine classifies as an opioid, but it generally doesn’t induce euphoria, and it causes less physical dependence than heroin. It’s a partial opioid agonist, so it does work on the same receptors as heroin, but it has less of a potential for misuse.
Buprenorphine may be given in combination with naloxone in the drug Suboxone. The naloxone works to deter abuse of the drug since it will knock buprenorphine off the opioid receptors in the brain if abused. Drugs that consist of naloxone and buprenorphine include Suboxone, Zubsolv, and Bunavail.
Most people, even those who are somewhat of a living skeleton will survive going cold turkey, as long as they eat and drink something. The emotional instability can be solved by having people watching the junkie.
Eating and drinking alone isn't going to cure all of these physical effects:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Goosebumps
- Bone aches
- Abdominal cramping
- Cold sweats
- Diarrhea
- Increased tearing
- Runny nose
- Yawning
Coming off something like heroin specifically, is described as like having the flu. I don't know about you, but I don't believe the flu is treated by just keeping the body nourished. Junkies will still go through these effects and will resort to relapsing to "cure" themselves if they're trying cold turkey, i.e., without any medical support.
Having people just watch a junkie go cold turkey also does nothing. In fact, it's rather cruel because a junkie will still be going through not only the physical effects with no medical help, but the emotional effects:
- Insomnia
- Tremors
- Restlessness
- Anxiety
- Cravings
- Agitation
- Tremors
- Difficulty concentrating
- Fatigue
- Difficulty finding pleasure
Again, it's why 45% (or basically half) of all people trying to go "cold turkey" off heroin alone, die. They're trying to cure the withdrawal effects through suicide or the drug itself. It is the entire
point of detox.
So when you make this statement:
Why not round them up and let them go cold turkey in a place without any available drugs?
You're essentially saying, "Hey, you're about to go through at least 10 days of hell, and there's a good chance half of you will commit suicide to fight the withdrawal effects."
The irony is thinking any of these survivors will be "healthy people who can be part of society again" after what they go through.
or whatever else can be conjured is required to stop this menace to society. As for morality, there is no city in the world that has a higher moral ground than Seattle. Liberal, leftist and humanist to a fault, we wear our superior morality smugly on our sleeves, signaling loudly and often our virtue, piety and zealousness to the cause of universal human rights, open borders, fighting ICE, Trump and climate change. We are definitely holier-than-thou on the score of morality.
