

Access To Internet Promotes Drug Abuse - peternorton
http://www.conceivablytech.com/7368/science-research/access-to-internet-promotes-drug-abuse

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jsavimbi
I hate to be the one point this out, but my drug consumption, aside from beer,
has declined over time as my internet connection has speeded up.

Prescription medication, or the abuse thereof, has increased because the
current pain management models in the health care system have been employed in
conjunction with introduction of easily transferable pain medication that is
better than heroin and equally cost-effective and desirable to the delivery
system and the end-user along with lax oversight and promotion by the drug
manufacturers. For example, back in the day, it was a huge pain in the ass to
find and acquire, through healthcare professionals, high-dose codeine in pill
form yet today Oxycontin can be had everywhere for cheap.

In other words, someone is blaming the use of the internet to acquire
prescription drugs instead of blaming the drug manufacturers and the doctors
that dispense said medications to the general population as an easy cure-all.

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bediger
So you're saying this article is wrong on two counts:

1\. Correlation is not causation

2\. More exogenous variables than they consider exist.

Sounds like an attempt to create yet another Horseman of the Internet
Apocalypse.

~~~
jsavimbi
What I'm saying is that the research team pulled their hypothesis out of their
collective asses.

It's like blaming TV because people want to take Viagra. No mention that the
Viagra actually works wonders, in many senses, for someone suffering from ED
or in this case, a readily available opioid in pill form dispensed by a
credible source that does exactly what it is designed to do.

> since it is well known that these drugs are easily available online

whenever a researcher uses the phrase "since it is well known", one should
automatically discount their work.

What is well known, or should be by both authors, is that these drugs are
easily available at hospitals (A. B. Jena) and pharmacies (D. P. Goldman).

