Drug Use

Gearhead5 said:
I could not agree more with your statement about CaptMJ - she is the absolute best. She gives very insightful advice and is compassionate. As a prior enlisted Navy sailor it would have been a pleasure to have served with her. šŸ˜Ž
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I have said it before and will say it again. Nothing would make me more proud than if my DS becomes an officer and human being like her.

I know he has the ability to be a good officer. He needs work on the human being part. He has genetics to overcome. ;)
 
Gearhead5 said:
I could not agree more with your statement about CaptMJ - she is the absolute best. She gives very insightful advice and is compassionate. As a prior enlisted Navy sailor it would have been a pleasure to have served with her. šŸ˜Ž
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Right back at you, shipmate.
 
A1Janitor said:
I have said it before and will say it again. Nothing would make me more proud than if my DS becomes an officer and human being like her.

I know he has the ability to be a good officer. He needs work on the human being part. He has genetics to overcome. ;)
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Iā€™m in the same boat, no Navy pun intended. My DS will be in college and AFROTC in the Fall of 24. I believe he can be a good officer and hopefully pilot, however his people skills need work. Iā€™ll take the blame for that as I have to constantly work on being a better person. CaptMJ is a great example for these young people to follow.
 
Friend here used marijuana heavily in hs, has TS now. You'll be fine.
 
My 2026 DS told me USMA conducts random drug testing - for which specific drugs, he didn't know. Not sure if plebes only, but probably for all classes. And not sure how many randomly gets asked each time. He got picked and was tested last year.
 
The entire military conducts unit sweeps (100%) and random urinalyses (might be something like everyone with SSN ending in 3) at unpredictable intervals. There is also the directed probable cause urinalysis in support of evidence collection.

Something else to keep in mind is that Tylenol with codeine you were given for wisdom tooth extraction a year ago but didnā€™t use all of it? And decide to take it now because you banged up your knee doing the obstacle course? Not good head work, taking an opiate for a condition it wasnā€™t prescribed for. Or worse, your roommate offers you a controlled substance prescribed for them. Different from recreational drug usage, but can get you in big trouble just as easily.
 
Capt MJ said:
The entire military conducts unit sweeps (100%) and random urinalyses (might be something like everyone with SSN ending in 3) at unpredictable intervals. There is also the directed probable cause urinalysis in support of evidence collection.

Something else to keep in mind is that Tylenol with codeine you were given for wisdom tooth extraction a year ago but didnā€™t use all of it? And decide to take it now because you banged up your knee doing the obstacle course? Not good head work, taking an opiate for a condition it wasnā€™t prescribed for. Or worse, your roommate offers you a controlled substance prescribed for them. Different from recreational drug usage, but can get you in big trouble just as easily.
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Especially with good health care coverage right at hand. Go in, get any diagnosis and drugs you need, and turn in that old codeine at the clinic so no one else is tempted to get dumber than necessary.
 
Over the years I used to get percocet for a pulled tooth or broken finger, etc. I would then use Tylenol, ibuprofen, and aspirin and store the percocet.

I found they worked very well for the occasional migraine that I got that excedrine migraine didnā€™t help. Literally 2 or 3 pills a year. Never abused it. Always hid them.

I had two workers die of heroin overdose - they got hooked on these prescriptions and turned to heroin which was cheaper and easier to get.

So I stopped doing that.
 
A1Janitor said:
Over the years I used to get percocet for a pulled tooth or broken finger, etc. I would then use Tylenol, ibuprofen, and aspirin and store the percocet.

I found they worked very well for the occasional migraine that I got that excedrine migraine didnā€™t help. Literally 2 or 3 pills a year. Never abused it. Always hid them.

I had two workers die of heroin overdose - they got hooked on these prescriptions and turned to heroin which was cheaper and easier to get.

So I stopped doing that.
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My wife is a pharmacist and I hear about this problem way too often. This issue goes deep and beyond what what we hear about in our everyday lives. A while back I ran into an old colleague at a baseball game and she rattled off five names from the time we worked together. All five gone from opioids or heroin, I could have hit the deck. Way to much damage done to families and loved ones. Iā€™m very happy to hear the Percocet did not get its hooks in you as they can be very addictive.
 
StPaulDad said:
Especially with good health care coverage right at hand. Go in, get any diagnosis and drugs you need, and turn in that old codeine at the clinic so no one else is tempted to get dumber than necessary.
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About once a year, I gather up expired or no longer prescribed meds, bag them up, drop them off at the Anne Arundel County Police Station that has a slot where you can drop them off without question. They dispose of them properly - no going into the Bay or water treatment systems or garbage.

DH had a shoulder replacement, cataract-lens replacement and a few other ā€œbody shopā€ repairs this past year, and had some small numbers of oxycodone tabs. Heā€™s a stoic, so maybe took one the first day after procedures, then switched to OTC pain relief. His doctors also changed out some meds. I always feel virtuous after I go make the drop.
 
Capt MJ said:
About once a year, I gather up expired or no longer prescribed meds, bag them up, drop them off at the Anne Arundel County Police Station that has a slot where you can drop them off without question. They dispose of them properly - no going into the Bay or water treatment systems or garbage.

DH had a shoulder replacement, cataract-lens replacement and a few other ā€œbody shopā€ repairs this past year, and had some small numbers of oxycodone tabs. Heā€™s a stoic, so maybe took one the first day after procedures, then switched to OTC pain relief. His doctors also changed out some meds. I always feel virtuous after I go make the drop.
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Very good Public Service Announcement on a proper disposal option.
 
Pharmacists can correct me if I am wrong - a pharmacist tax client told me that the expiration dates arenā€™t real. They put them on to encourage people to dispose of them if they arenā€™t using them/donā€™t need them. It is possible over time they become less effective - but they donā€™t go bad or become harmful.

That being said - I have been meaning to throw out all my old otc crap some of which is like ten years or more past the date. ;)
 
A1Janitor said:
Pharmacists can correct me if I am wrong - a pharmacist tax client told me that the expiration dates arenā€™t real. They put them on to encourage people to dispose of them if they arenā€™t using them/donā€™t need them. It is possible over time they become less effective - but they donā€™t go bad or become harmful.

That being said - I have been meaning to throw out all my old otc crap some of which is like ten years or more past the date. ;)
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The expiration date is the longest that a manufacturer can guarantee stability under ideal conditions. Beyond that, the medication is still "good" but the chemical structure begins to break down and lose its effectiveness. There are some studies out there showing how effective a medication is beyond its expiration date but they are few and far between. They don't go "bad" so to speak like food expires.

Expiration dates on a prescription label have a date of one year from the dispense date. This is a pharmacy law and is not an accurate depiction of the true expiration date listed on the stock bottle.
 
Anonymous121 said:
The expiration date is the longest that a manufacturer can guarantee stability under ideal conditions. Beyond that, the medication is still "good" but the chemical structure begins to break down and lose its effectiveness. There are some studies out there showing how effective a medication is beyond its expiration date but they are few and far between. They don't go "bad" so to speak like food expires.

Expiration dates on a prescription label have a date of one year from the dispense date. This is a pharmacy law and is not an accurate depiction of the true expiration date listed on the stock bottle.
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Thank you - fantastic response.
 
Capt MJ said:
The entire military conducts unit sweeps (100%) and random urinalyses (might be something like everyone with SSN ending in 3) at unpredictable intervals. There is also the directed probable cause urinalysis in support of evidence collection.

Something else to keep in mind is that Tylenol with codeine you were given for wisdom tooth extraction a year ago but didnā€™t use all of it? And decide to take it now because you banged up your knee doing the obstacle course? Not good head work, taking an opiate for a condition it wasnā€™t prescribed for. Or worse, your roommate offers you a controlled substance prescribed for them. Different from recreational drug usage, but can get you in big trouble just as easily.
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Good point, AND keep in mind that there are a ton of counterfeit opioid pills out there that can look real! (And other fake substances). People die of Fentanyl overdoses this way everyday.
Or end up throwing their dreams away when they get arrested for public intoxication, driving, etc, when they make poor decisions (or lose control) under the influence....
 
Just do NOT do it.

Period. End. Of. Statement.

A young man in a town where one of my academy roommates lives... went out with friends. This kid was the "American Dream, 4.0 GPS Unweighted, Ivy League School acceptance, etc...etc...etc..."

At a party, his friends convinced him to take a pill as it would "relax you, chill you out, and make you feel great."

He was dead within 20 minutes.

Turns out the pill, which they thought was something "typical of the high school scene" was mostly fentanyl.

Stay.Away.From.It!!
 
Opioids should almost never be prescribed and are typically less effective in treating pain than a combination of NSAIDs like acetaminophen & ibuprofen. People like using them more for the narcotic effect, rather than the actual pain relief.

Same thing with antibiotics. They are often prescribed for conditions for which they are not necessary and/or ineffective.

Both have their place in the lexicon of proper treatment plans, but should be used as sparingly as possible.
 
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