Reemergence of Blood Borne Disease in Rural America

I started to write and post a bit on re-emergent diseases related to inner city crowding, sexual promiscuity, and drug use.  But then that last one ran me into a roadblock, and it is important to understand because while sexual promiscuity has always been a significant but minor problem in Rural America, drug abuse is a recent (30 years) and rapidly increasing problem.

When I tried to research it, I ran into a continuous wall of roadblocks designed to make people think in politically correct terms, and that is when I decided to write about it here. This is really an issue of the choices we make, and the friends we keep.

Many places in the Bible it mentions Sorcery or Witchcraft, but it isn't always the popular definition of those that the Bible speaks of Galatians 5:19, for instance translates from the Greek word pharmacia. Today, Paul might have written to avoid those involved in abuse of mind altering drugs, with the same general meaning.

While the politically correct crowd protects the drug abuser from having to face their problems head on, and tells the Church that preaching Jesus is hateful, they supply needles and "safe spaces" where these problems (even calling it a problem is politically incorrect today) can fester and breed diseases.

I believe that, unless called to minister or preach to these drug addicts, we need to avoid them, even in good times. The health of our families is at stake.

https://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-sword.html

In Matthew 10:34–36, Jesus said He had come at this time not to bring peace to the earth, but a sword, a weapon which divides and severs. As a result of His visit to the earth, some children would be set against parents and a man’s enemies might be those within his own household.

I agree. Too many people on mind-altering drugs all over. People on meth are scary, they live for it. Nothing else matters. It's so sad.

Cinnamon wrote:I agree. Too many people on mind-altering drugs all over. People on meth are scary, they live for it. Nothing else matters. It's so sad.

Basically, everything we learned about cocaine and crack users applies.

The thing we have to remember here, is that that they may not even know they pose a risk, since they can carry something like Hepatitis for weeks (maybe months) and not know it.

Cinnamon wrote:I agree. Too many people on mind-altering drugs all over. People on meth are scary, they live for it. Nothing else matters. It's so sad.

I ran across this, while reviewing old threads. Haven't read much about hepatitis, in the past couple of years, but I imagine it is still there.

I have learned some unexpected things about meth. The local meth labs are a lot fewer in number (unless you are in Southern California), but it isn't because we are winning the war on drugs.

Quite the opposite. There is a new version of Meth, that agents began to see in 2008. It isn't made from Actifed or Sudafed, like the old Meth. It is a variant on a recipe, first attempted several decades ago (unsuccessfully). by the Hell's Angels. Some smart scientist figured out the formula, and now it is manufactured in Mexico (mostly in the Sinaloa province, from what I have read). It flows across our Southern border in quantities that allow it to undersell the local meth labs, and put them out of business.

Worse, the "new" meth is much more addictive, and more damaging to the brain, than the old stuff. One hit and the person is likely to be addicted for life, and it doesn't take long for brain damage to set in.

Scary stuff, indeed.