It has been a long damn day.

My imp had his four year well-child visit today.  Our doctor's office has moved into their new, post-tornado, permanent location.  It's really nice. 

It was also insanely busy,* this morning.

One of the other patients was a 54 year old woman who was suffering badly after a knee replacement.  She was in an incredible amount of pain, and her husband was griping about how she was sent home without adequate pain remediation.  I mentioned that it was probably worth the doctor's license (and a possible prison term) for him to have prescribed such.  It actually sparked a major discussion among about nine or ten strangers, about how horrible that was, and I pointed out similarities between the war on (some) drugs, and the prohibition of alcohol in the 1930's. 

Richard Blaine wrote an excellent piece about that, yesterday.   As he pointed out,  nobody that pays attention to the war on (some) drugs notices the racial aspect (like how crack is more illegal than cocaine--which is a stronger drug--because of what demographic uses it), or the connection with organized crime.  Few know their history well enough to remember that we've been through this song and dance before, and that it didn't work then, either. 

Fewer still count the cost in human suffering. 

No one in the active enforcement of modern prohibition pays attention to anything other than the fact that someone, somewhere might make an informed decision  to use one of these drugs recreationally (and have a lot of fun so doing), or to anything other than how much cash and/or property they can steal from someone under the suspicion of having some drugs in their possession.

And the ones suffering are the ones in major, chronic pain that can't do a damn thing about it, and the doctors that have to sit by, helpless, while their patients hurt.

*And, as a mark of why we're going to be sticking with that particular office, regardless of the doctor we'd seen moving, the receptionist called with an apology for wait times, and with a compliment for how well the imp had behaved during the hour long wait to get back to an exam room.