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Drugs in Rural Ohio


99StockGT

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Got a text from my mother this morning, apparently it's a busy day up there in farming country! The Smithville address that was busted is down the street and around the corner from my mothers. Surrounded by nothing but corn fields and chicken coops, the Wooster address on Cher Ct is ON the same small lane my aunt lives on.

 

Guess you never know what your neighbors are doing even in the Idyllic Countryside.

 

http://www.the-daily-record.com/news/20171109/mexican-cartel-related-drug-dealers-arrested-in-wayne-countys-biggest-bust

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You don't have to be a Narc to see what is going on in southern Ohio. We did a few cruises in SE Ohio and went thru some small towns. The entire population of the town looked like a scene out of breaking bad. We did not even stop for stop signs, some crazy stuff going on down there.
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You don't have to be a Narc to see what is going on in southern Ohio. We did a few cruises in SE Ohio and went thru some small towns. The entire population of the town looked like a scene out of breaking bad. We did not even stop for stop signs, some crazy stuff going on down there.
Every time I go back to our farm below Athens, I'm amazed at how bad everything looks (people included) compared to when I was young.

 

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You don't have to be a Narc to see what is going on in southern Ohio. We did a few cruises in SE Ohio and went thru some small towns. The entire population of the town looked like a scene out of breaking bad. We did not even stop for stop signs, some crazy stuff going on down there.

 

Lots of Ohio is this way, shame really. Of course when they keep reviving people with narcan and giving people caught with drugs/pills a slap on the wrist, the problems will only get worse.

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Lots of Ohio is this way, shame really. Of course when they keep reviving people with narcan and giving people caught with drugs/pills a slap on the wrist, the problems will only get worse.

 

The stories that I have heard of the same person getting hit with narcan multiple times in the same day, different instances, is a little much. In the time that is given to them, there could be someone else in true need of help that doesn't get it. Im not saying that people don't deserve a second chance, but when it's a 3rd, 4th, or 5th revival via narcan it's time to either throw them in jail or let them go. Some people are beyond saving and I don't mean reviving, I mean getting clean and staying clean.

It's rather ugly out there for sure. Should we just start executing cartel members like the cartel does to innocent people in Mexico?....

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The stories that I have heard of the same person getting hit with narcan multiple times in the same day, different instances, is a little much. In the time that is given to them, there could be someone else in true need of help that doesn't get it. Im not saying that people don't deserve a second chance, but when it's a 3rd, 4th, or 5th revival via narcan it's time to either throw them in jail or let them go. Some people are beyond saving and I don't mean reviving, I mean getting clean and staying clean.

It's rather ugly out there for sure. Should we just start executing cartel members like the cartel does to innocent people in Mexico?....

 

+1

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You don't have to be a Narc to see what is going on in southern Ohio. We did a few cruises in SE Ohio and went thru some small towns. The entire population of the town looked like a scene out of breaking bad. We did not even stop for stop signs, some crazy stuff going on down there.

Which towns? I love people watching

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I still to this day do not understand why someone would want to do herion or meth.

 

Give away everything you have and go live on gubmint assistance in Coalton. It's a shit hole. I think it's boredom.

 

Reality is, I don't understand it either. It's like bath salts/flakka. KNOWING what it does...why?!

 

We're just not in those situations. I can't fathom what would make ANYONE want to try any of those, but many do.

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This has been a problem for a long time but has been ignored for the most part. I was going to college in Portsmouth when it was ground zero for the Oxy craze. By the time I left that town Meth was all the rage.

 

No education + no jobs = drug/crime problem

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Lack of education, jobs, and overly prescribed/easily accessed pills.

 

Years ago my dad was prescribed oxy after a back surgery. When he was weening himself off of it said he understood how people can get into the mind state where they would do anything for it. He would be up in the middle of the night at like 3am because he couldn't sleep due to his body telling him to take another one. Thankfully he has the kind of willpower lacking in many that I know; but it definitely have him an enlightened perspective on just how hard it is to overcome. It's a slippery slope. One many can't climb out of.

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Lack of education, jobs, and overly prescribed/easily accessed pills.

 

Years ago my dad was prescribed oxy after a back surgery. When he was weening himself off of it said he understood how people can get into the mind state where they would do anything for it. He would be up in the middle of the night at like 3am because he couldn't sleep due to his body telling him to take another one. Thankfully he has the kind of willpower lacking in many that I know; but it definitely have him an enlightened perspective on just how hard it is to overcome. It's a slippery slope. One many can't climb out of.

 

Sounds like he was in the early stages of the addiction when he was still able to break free. Once people go too far down the rabbit hole their brain chemistry changes and just having the willpower isn't enough. I'm torn on the concept that addiction is a disease. Some people believe it completely, others deny it completely. Drugs change your brain chemistry. Sometimes we use drugs to correct an imbalance. Addicts are using drugs to create an imbalance. It's a self imposed disease. It's a disease that is a direct result of their actions. Once they have it though, getting rid of it is a monumental hurdle. The medical treatment can be similar to treating a natural disease.

 

Glad to hear your dad was able to resist the urge. Beating the addiction early is great. He took a peak into pandoras box and was able to get it closed before shit got bad. I know a person who had a similar experience, except he got laid off during the same time frame. It really screwed with his head. The resulting depression from losing his job was enough that he couldn't break the addiction early, and he spiraled down. He's currently at rock bottom right now and starting to climb his way out of the hole he's dug, but he has nothing left. When I say nothing, I mean nothing. He's been sleeping on my couch the past few nights because he's homeless. His wife left him, everything he owned got sold/stolen/etc... to pay for prescription drugs and alcohol. My wife and I are working right now to get him into a program. She took the day off work so he won't be at the house unsupervised. I'm one of the last friends he has, and I'm struggling myself to make sure I don't allow him the opportunity to screw that up too. His sisters won't even take him in. He has even been kicked out of the homeless shelters for drinking.

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Looks like another healthy CR discussion has begun! Unfortunately around a terrible topic that is too close to many of our hearts. A lot of my childhood was spent within a couple thousand feet of where both of these two Wayne Co. issues came up, and I can tell you the world of 25 years ago and now... such a twisted path to get here from there.

 

A little back story on the area.

 

Wooster was the home of Rubbermaid, Orrvile just 10 miles down the road was the home of Volvo truck. Lots of good paying blue/white collar jobs for the local rural population which also supported 2nd and 3rd tier businesses catering to that work. Fast forward through the 90s, Volvo relocated to Virginia taking thousands of jobs away from the industrial town with nothing able to step in and take over the space. Rubbermaid is purchased by Newell who promptly downsizes and then closes their Wooster facility. Thousands more blue/white collar jobs disappear. The economy begins to spiral as local opportunities begin to disappear, those 2nd and 3rd tier businesses begin to close. Walmart builds a huge new store on the north end of the town where development is growing, Lowes goes in across the street. 2 local grocery stores that had been anchors for their communities and shopping centers close, jobs are lost. Areas lose easy access to shopping/food, spiral quickens. Independent hardware/lumber shops all go out of business except one downtown... another shopping center falls victim as their anchors are gone and foot traffic dies down... the current increases.

 

Begin the Pain Killer problem. Pain becomes something we throw pills at, becomes a focus of the medical/pharma industries. Money is made as 'scripts fly made cheap by insurances and profitable by the sheer volume. Small towns begin to see kids that who occasionally would sneak a beer or have some drinks after the Friday night football game, maybe hit a joint in super sneaky fashion with a group of friends in a garage... start stealing pills from their parents medicine cabinet knowing they can skim 2...4....6 and they won't get caught because who's paying attention everyones working longer hours with less family time and more and more "broken homes"..

 

Fast forward 20 years. We have an entire generation who had this around them their entire lives, all while the country is at war. Those who serve come back from their experiences with all sorts of additional tragedy on their souls and easy access to substances that will help lock away that pain. The economic opportunities for those who had a clear path in the industry/manufacturing which has been a staple of solid jobs since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution are gone or rapidly disappearing. Wages stagnate while cost of living increase... the whirlpool turns faster.

 

Take away the easy access to the pills which provided the barrier to the physical/emotional pain many have relied on for decades. Take people off their medication for "fear of addiction" or other reasons... those people look for an outlet... illicit drug gangs/cartels/providers realize the money to be made is in the rural communities where policing is at a minimum due to budget issues from a shrinking tax base... the waters are becoming a raging whirling torrent...

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Looks like another healthy CR discussion has begun! Unfortunately around a terrible topic that is too close to many of our hearts. A lot of my childhood was spent within a couple thousand feet of where both of these two Wayne Co. issues came up, and I can tell you the world of 25 years ago and now... such a twisted path to get here from there.

 

A little back story on the area.

 

Wooster was the home of Rubbermaid, Orrvile just 10 miles down the road was the home of Volvo truck. Lots of good paying blue/white collar jobs for the local rural population which also supported 2nd and 3rd tier businesses catering to that work. Fast forward through the 90s, Volvo relocated to Virginia taking thousands of jobs away from the industrial town with nothing able to step in and take over the space. Rubbermaid is purchased by Newell who promptly downsizes and then closes their Wooster facility. Thousands more blue/white collar jobs disappear. The economy begins to spiral as local opportunities begin to disappear, those 2nd and 3rd tier businesses begin to close. Walmart builds a huge new store on the north end of the town where development is growing, Lowes goes in across the street. 2 local grocery stores that had been anchors for their communities and shopping centers close, jobs are lost. Areas lose easy access to shopping/food, spiral quickens. Independent hardware/lumber shops all go out of business except one downtown... another shopping center falls victim as their anchors are gone and foot traffic dies down... the current increases.

 

Begin the Pain Killer problem. Pain becomes something we throw pills at, becomes a focus of the medical/pharma industries. Money is made as 'scripts fly made cheap by insurances and profitable by the sheer volume. Small towns begin to see kids that who occasionally would sneak a beer or have some drinks after the Friday night football game, maybe hit a joint in super sneaky fashion with a group of friends in a garage... start stealing pills from their parents medicine cabinet knowing they can skim 2...4....6 and they won't get caught because who's paying attention everyones working longer hours with less family time and more and more "broken homes"..

 

Fast forward 20 years. We have an entire generation who had this around them their entire lives, all while the country is at war. Those who serve come back from their experiences with all sorts of additional tragedy on their souls and easy access to substances that will help lock away that pain. The economic opportunities for those who had a clear path in the industry/manufacturing which has been a staple of solid jobs since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution are gone or rapidly disappearing. Wages stagnate while cost of living increase... the whirlpool turns faster.

 

Take away the easy access to the pills which provided the barrier to the physical/emotional pain many have relied on for decades. Take people off their medication for "fear of addiction" or other reasons... those people look for an outlet... illicit drug gangs/cartels/providers realize the money to be made is in the rural communities where policing is at a minimum due to budget issues from a shrinking tax base... the waters are becoming a raging whirling torrent...

 

Ditto. My family is from Ashtabula. Everyone the age of my mom's parents moved there due to the plethora of good paying factory jobs. The kind where you could have a single parent working at the factory and the other one working at home raising and maintaining the house. One where you could save money, afford to take your family on a vacation, and put your kids through college. I even remember as a kid in the 90's the land being cleared and the mall being built. Going down town shopping with my mom and my grandma, then getting lunch. Then shortly after, factories closed as all those jobs went to china. As you mentioned, the businesses that were open and profited from that workforce closed. Fast forward to now. (Heck this started 10yrs ago), the mall is creepy and vacant. It looks like a bomb went off downtown. And last I heard, Ashtabula was the meth cooking capital of OH. That county is amazing for hunting and fishing. And having done my fair share of that, I can attest to how much space there is to cook meth and most likely not get caught. Heck, a few years ago one judge was telling citizens to stay armed and vigilant because they just didn't have the law enforcement resources needed.

 

Honestly, if your aren't hunting or fishing up there, it's a depressing place. The crappy economy combined with the stagnant gene pool make me feel gross whenever I go back there. :/

 

When your options on a friday night are heroine/meth, or getting coffee at Perkins...it's not hard to guess where most people are going to wind up.

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