I agree. As a former addict myself (fentanyl/dilaudid were my drugs of choice) it absolutely should be treated as a medical issue instead of a social/criminal one. I hid my addiction to the point that people thought I was joking or lying when I confessed it to them, saying how there's no way and how I didn't act like a junkie, etc.

I was actually hospitalized once because I woke up and started vomiting and shitting blood. I was so scared that they would just kick me or refuse any medicine because of that, so I hid it from them even though it definitely showed up on the blood test. There is such a stigma against addicts and addiction in general, people think you can 'just stop' and that you're having the time of your life while using when it is quite the opposite.

Thanks for your service as a paramedic. You guys are great and you do an awesome service for the community. I've only had 2 ambulance rides in my life, but both times the paramedics/EMTs were amazing and helped me calm down when I needed it.