In Venezuela now*
some people get water once a week
and sicken from it
First, withdrawal
When we have our earthquake
Tsunami** and roads and bridges are gone
If one in three adults in Utah
Got an opioid prescription in 2014
What are the numbers here?
Opioids
Alcohol
Benzos
Caffeine
After the first wave of death
and grief, withdrawal begins
Not just addictive drugs
from insulin
from blood pressure meds
anticoagulants
seizure medicine
chemo ground to a halt
I read that alcohol is best to trade in disaster
and chaos and loss
Guarded by guns in small gangs
We are told to store water
Where?
If the house falls down
and I can get out, where would I put water?
A bunker in the ground?
I stock straws for water
I wish I could buy 9000
for my town
I stock books for when the computers
go silent
I stock songs in my head
memorized all
I fight for all my patients
Who would I not fight for?
Maybe it would be better to die
or be captured early
I stock love not guns.
*http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2016/05/26/world/americas/desperate-times-in-venezuela/s/27VENEZUELA-SS-slide-3ZIT.html?_r=0
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/26/utah-mormons-prescription-painkiller-addiction
**http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/07/20/the-really-big-one
http://lifestraw.com/our-story/
Trends in opioid dosing in WA State Medicaid patients before and after opioid dosing guideline implementation:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26828802