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DrugBuyers
Administrator
Reged: 11/18/01
Posts: 1226
Loc: DrugBuyers.Com
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LINK
Quote:
Posted on Mon, Jan. 05, 2004
At Drugbuyers.com, pain sufferers not sorry
BY J. SCOTT ORR
Newhouse News Service
Federal authorities see most online pharmacies as illegal operations that allow drug abusers to circumvent legitimate channels to feed their addictions.
But to members of the online community Drugbuyers.com, these pharmacies are lifesavers that provide narcotic relief for everything from back pain to migraines to anxiety.
Drugbuyers.com is a place where pain sufferers and drug abusers alike share tips on the best online pharmacies, where prescription-writing doctors are praised for their compassion, where there is no shame in self-medicating.
Typical is Karen, who was injured in a car wreck five years ago. When after two years her doctors cut off her access to the painkiller Vicodin, she was desperate to find a new source.
"I went home that day, and contemplated suicide. I felt I couldn't fight for the rest of my life to receive the care I need in order to live a normal life," said Karen, who asked that her last name not be used.
"That night, I went online in hopes of finding a local doctor who could help me. I came across Drugbuyers.com. It was almost as though God himself directed me to it. It has been a lifesaver," she said.
In messages posted for their peers and in e-mail interviews, the denizens of Drugbuyers.com proved to be an articulate and passionate group, bound by their quest for the relief federally controlled medicines bring them. They also share a raging resentment that traditional avenues of procuring prescription drugs have been closed to them for reasons they cannot abide.
There is palpable indignation among the chronic pain sufferers at Drugbuyers.com about doctors who refuse to prescribe narcotics even to patients who can prove legitimate need. They blame the federal government and its "war on drugs" for scaring doctors away from their prescription pads.
"Some of the people here have no choice and depend entirely on the online pharmacies for all their pain meds, without which they either could not function or have any quality to their lives whatsoever," a Drugbuyers.com member named Folksong wrote in an e-mail.
"I guess my point is this: If doctors would take the time to listen to their patients and educate themselves about chronic pain in short, do their job the online pharmacies would not be such an issue," he added.
Alex Marlin, who started Drugbuyers.com about five years ago, said that the name of his site might give some people the wrong idea about what goes on there: "It is a name that makes people think our site is about 'drugs.'
It is about drugs, but it is about prescription drugs."
Marlin said he created Drugbuyers.com because he felt sorry for chronic pain sufferers who had difficulty in getting their pills through traditional sources. The site is paid for through advertising and subscription fees from "VIP members," who then qualify for discounts on drugs from participating online pharmacies.
People who admit to abuse or recreational use of drugs are banned from Drugbuyers.com, Marlin said, though many posts have only slightly veiled references to the more pleasurable side effects of painkilling drugs.
And the references to drug abuse on Drugbuyers.com are mild compared to those at other sites, like Best if kept off the board.nu, that are devoted to discussions of illegal drug abuse and sharing strategies for getting high.
It is the unvarnished advice about online drug buying that attracts thousands of people to Drugbuyers.com every day.
People like Cindy, a 44-year-old nurse from Phoenix who says her body resembles a "road map" of scars left after "six back surgeries, three of them spinal fusions with various hardware added."
"I am without a doubt hopelessly addicted to the narcotics," said Cindy, who also declined to give her last name. But she credits these drugs with enhancing, not degrading, her quality of life. If she must be an addict for the rest of her life, so be it.
"I function quite well taking the quantities I take. I do not take more than I need, and I now work an average of 50 to 60 hours a week.
I can clean my house, wash my car, garden, hike, do all the things I used to do.
"I'm very fortunate
but so many of the people here (at Drugbuyers.com) are desperate for help," Cindy said. She insisted that the site is devoted to people like her who are suffering legitimate pain, not "addicts, looking to get high."
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"Whosoever is spared personal pain must feel himself called to help in diminishing the pain of others." Dr Albert Schweitzer
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yawkaw3
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 03/22/03
Posts: 1193
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Welp, if we had to have media attention, that really wasn't so bad in terms of how he portrayed us...not sure the way he got his info was the most ethical way...but he could have bashed us and he didn't. I do appreciate how he stressed the legitimate needs we have that aren't addressed.
And I did like how he stressed the differences between us and that "other" messageboard (kinda funny how it got converted to 'best if kept off the board' in the article)
But this article seems very familiar- didn't he have another article some time ago with similar content?
-yawkaw
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potatoboy99
Permanent Fixture
Reged: 02/04/03
Posts: 1192
Loc: Deep North (East)
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I think there have been threads about this journalist exposing his or her willingness to take a stand firmly on both sides of this issue. This was the sympathetic version, but I think there is a less kindly point of view, that this same journalist has exercised in other articles with an anti-OP stance.
I could be way off base on this one! And I'm too tired to do the research. Sorry folks.
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tray1
Enthusiast
Reged: 11/22/03
Posts: 241
Loc: US
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PB,
I too remember this writer publishing two completely different stories, I have no respect for people like this, you can't be on both sides of the fence. I have more respect for people that take a stand (wether I aggree or not) and stick to it. I think one of the problems with this society in general these days is out lax attitude to let others make our choices and blindly follow the press/tv/etc like a pack of herded sheep......what happened to the days of people actually tkaing stands for what they believe in?? Prime example was 9/11 It seemed that everyone suddenly became patriots, every house had an American flag, it felt good, then a year later everyone was protesting the war in Iraq, bashing President Bush, etc......I can even remember one reporter actually questioning a group that was protesting the war and when he asked them one by one why the were protesting not ONE SINGLE person could answer......Im way off base, I know, and I try to stay away from anything political, but my point is If you truly believe in something, stand up, stick to your guns, we have become a nation of blind followers, Prime example is our Doctors, we know that they are well aware that opiates are benificial to ensuring quality of life for Chronic Pain Patients....but they cower to the government......each and everyone of us has the power to stand up for what we believe in......If we all banned together we could be a force to be reckoned with.......My .02.
Tray
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Jordan530
WonderWoman
Reged: 11/20/02
Posts: 597
Loc: The Left Coast of Florida
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Tragr, I totally agree with you. When I read this MUCH earlier this morning, still half asleep, all I could think was how many articles are you going to write and can you please make up your mind on your stance. If I'm correct, I believe this is his 3rd article?? (someone correct me if I'm wrong) It seems to me that he's bouncing back and forth like a ping pong ball. I dunno, maybe I'm just interpreting them all wrong. It's been know to happen before. 
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'A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand'
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moonshade
Old Hand
Reged: 12/01/02
Posts: 451
Loc: searching for my lost shaker o...
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As far as I know, he's written 2 articles.
I condensed them and put them in one post on VIP board, if anyone wants to read both , and not have to go searching for past posts.
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*** insert profound statement here ***
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: $30 off for VIP's NOW.
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