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henry1
Board Addict
Reged: 10/08/03
Posts: 307
Loc: North Central USA
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As I'm sure everyone is aware, a bill has been introduced which if passed as written, would drastically alter how OPs do business. We also have a possible schedule change for a popular pain med on the horizen.
The year 2004 is not looking good. We need to do more than write letters and sign petitions. We also need to do a much better job policing ourselves.
A post which describes how easy it is to obtain pain medication from a certain OP should never make it to the board. A post about receiving refills before refills are due should never be written. Those are just examples, but there are many more posts that serve no purpose, other than giving the very people we are trying to fight more reason to shut us down.
I am all for writing letters and signing petitions, but many of those letters will go unread, and many of the petitions will be lost among a thousand others collecting dust on someones desk.
We are in this position in part because of what we say and how we say it. We need to start thinking about what we post, and what real purpose it will serve, and who might be reading it.
 Just my 2 cents...
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treading the backward path...
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patient2all
Enthusiast
Reged: 05/16/02
Posts: 298
Loc: usa
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I am in 100% agreement with you Henry. Thought that I wrote that post and forgot!
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patient2all
It's a sad world, getting sadder by the day....
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redhill
Banned. Flames, offending others
Reged: 06/02/03
Posts: 278
Loc: Hell on Earth, for now
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Quote:
As I'm sure everyone is aware, a bill has been introduced which if passed as written, would drastically alter how OPs do business. We also have a possible schedule change for a popular pain med on the horizen.
Thirty million Americans in pain, and most of the protest (not very vocal) comes from little fringe organizations such as this web site and its supporters/members, yet when the price of gasoline rises above, say, $2.00 a gallon, there is a massive outcry. Priorities are all screwed up.
Quote:
The year 2004 is not looking good. We need to do more than write letters and sign petitions. We also need to do a much better job policing ourselves.
A post which describes how easy it is to obtain pain medication from a certain OP should never make it to the board. A post about receiving refills before refills are due should never be written. Those are just examples, but there are many more posts that serve no purpose, other than giving the very people we are trying to fight more reason to shut us down.
I am all for writing letters and signing petitions, but many of those letters will go unread, and many of the petitions will be lost among a thousand others collecting dust on someones desk.
I respectfully disagree with the idea of policing anything. It leads to censorship, and that's something we've been seeing plenty of as of late.
Although there are stupid and senseless things being said, I love the fact that our freedom allows us, ideally, to do that without being punished.
Better to fight for our cause the hard way, free speech and all, and give up nothing, than to severely compromise more of our freedoms on the off chance that the government decides to give us something we want. In short, I don't think it would make much difference anyway, and the powers-that-be aren't going to give an inch, unless we really fight.
So we do agree that we need to do more than just the letters and emails, but in my opinion - and anyone feel free to disagree and say so - policing is not the way.
In the meantime, I personally will refrain from making stupid posts 
If anyone has any suggestions on what can be done, post it here, or anywhere we can see it. We should all do our best if we want to have any influence in what happens to our meds, and the laws that govern our health care.
Take care
mr Hill
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buey
Old Hand
Reged: 01/15/03
Posts: 453
Loc: USA
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You know what I think a has fueled the fire against OPs? Those morons affiliates that spam people. I must get 20 of those per day and I am sick of it. (I also get about 500 other spam emails per day so I have to keep the number I get in perspective)
Over the weekend I got a spam that I thought was totally outrageous. The subject line was something about "Buy your valium here. Help to come down from coke" That's over the top. It's places like this that are making it very hard for legit patients with medical problems. I would suggest that people never buy from places they receive spam email from, because that perpetuates the problem, but I guess that's an unrealistic thing to expect.
As far as what people are saying here being the cause of this new war on OPs, I have my doubts on that. I could be wrong though. Wouldn't be the first time. I think the feds are very aware of the services that follow the rules (NWW, YOD, etc) and those that don't without having to read about it on here. It is also quite obvious, that this board is not for the person looking for rec drugs. I see very little of that. What I do see is people who are suffering, looking for some relief. When people come on here in search of rec drugs, they are generally shunned and are told to go elsewher. I think that's a good thing and the feds should realize that the vast majority of people on here are not abusers looking for a high.
The bottom line is people are complaining about all this spam email that is pretty much pushing drugs on the public. There is no need for that IMO. Most people that haev no legitimate medical need for OPS would have no idea about these places if it were not for all this junk mail. A legit pain/anxiety patient or someone who has other real medical issues would be able to find the information they need by searching for places like this board online. By sending out these spam, they are not targetting any group of people, such as people with LEGIT medical problems. They are just spamming everyone.
I do not take recreational drugs and I was appalled that the above mentioned email was sent to me. I have a child who also uses the internet. He's relatively young now, and has a protected email account. But I know many parents who do not monitor their children's email, and sending out emails telling people to buy valium so they can come down from their coke high is irresponsible, immoral and detrimental. If this email landed in my kid's email box I may consider forwarding that on to the authorities, members of congress, and the press myself. I think a lot of people have done just that in the past year. So I place a lot of blame on the affiliate spammers. Just my opinion.
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henry1
Board Addict
Reged: 10/08/03
Posts: 307
Loc: North Central USA
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When censorship is imposed on us by others I agree its usually a bad idea. However, when we impose it on ourselves, its a form of self preservation.
The majority of us practice self censorship as part of our daily lives. When my boss makes a business decision that I believe is a mistake, I might tell him why, but I will temper my comments so as not to offend him. When my best friend buys a new car that I don't like, I'm not going to tell him what a lousy purchase he made. If I give my opinion, I'll make sure I don't say anything that would harm our friendship. Those are 2 examples of self censorship. We censor our comments without even being aware of it.
I realize that being anonymous, as we are here, makes it easier to write what we think. What I'm suggesting is people think about what they write, and the ramifications it might have, before they decide to post it. Its just something to think about.
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treading the backward path...
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