I am physically dependent, Peter; yes. Have been for a fair few years, a little shorter of a time period than that of my being on a repeat rx of opioids, not sure what I can do about that though, other than cessation of regular/daily use. I see it as the lesser of the two evils though by a considerable way. The greater one being having to take opioids daily coupled with being in constant pain, weather I do, or not. I CAN walk without, although I use a cane, but I can't run, not sure how much is pain and how much is physical impairment though, certainly, a mixture of both.
I've been an on and off opiate user for quite a long time prior to my knee getting anywhere near as bad as it is now, and for many years before the relatively recent development of my hip problem, and since before the issues with neuropathy (thanks a whore-begat bunch, surgeons, I'm ever so shitting grateful! Could at least have fixed my knee while you were cutting me open and playing whack-a-mole with my sensory nerves.)
Not difficult here in the UK, since codeine, dihydrocodeine, morphine, and tincture of opium cough syrups are all available here with nothing more than the pharmacist asking (usually. Technically they are obligated to, but its not uncommon they don't, who its for, WHAT is it for, sometimes if the purchaser has ever had it before, and the limit, usually but not always, sometimes one gets lucky, a limit to one bottle/box of tablets per customer, and they don't like selling to the same buyer too often either. Lol, they are even good enough to make tincture of opium chewy candies
And opium poppies grow wild, and are easy to grow, quite legally, until/unless one prepares it for consumption, lances the pods for opium, or does an extraction, they are a nice treat when they are in-season. The climate could be better its true, but they certainly do produce, when I had less tolerance thanks to not being on a script, and when I hadn't been on them years I've gotten absolutely bloody smashed flat from one jug of tea from decent pods
Also legal, although not OTC are O-desmethyltramadol (although I cannot tolerate tramadol, its also an SNRI, and anything elevating noradrenaline levels is pretty much poison in my book), kratom (Mitragyna speciosa, a south-east asian small tree, with a spectrum of Mu-opioid receptor agonists, delta-OR agonists, amongst other things, this one is OTC from head shops, and quite pleasant. Various research chemicals are also unscheduled, and a few other plants. There are others also, various opioids that are rx-only in other countries, are unscheduled here thankfully
I don't consider myself an opioid addict. I would bee the first one to admit it if I did/was, I have been addicted to other things in the past, and I have always been open about it (other than, of course, to the filth. To who's piggy snouts and dishonorable natures honesty is rarely the best policy, of course [no bloody shite]), I did when I was addicted to GBL, and to barbital, the first barbiturate, now obsolete for decades worldwide in medical practice.
I'd way sooner have say, a shot of oxy, a jug of pod tea, an ice-cold pint or two and a joint, than get drunk, which I do not enjoy much at all, thats just my personal preference however.
I've done coke, amphetamine, methamphetamine, N-ethylamphetamine, methylphenidate, and I have tried crack (really did not care for it, I've only ever smoked base a few times, not sure exactly how many, but can quite literally count them on the fingers of one hand with a finger left over, first time I only found out about it AFTER taking it), as well as trying heroin (enjoyed the IV opioids, as well as methadone a lot, but never became a regular user, aside from when I got wrongfully remanded after becoming addicted to barbital/veronal, and the filth found my lab, just assumed I was some sort of fucking terrorist type!, I did smoke H fairly often, as well as take buprenorphine, but inside there is literally fuck all to do, other than watch shitty TV, and if I was really lucky, take a few books out a week. At the speed I read, a thick, long book like lord of the rings for instance will literally last me two days.
LOL; it is too bad that dealers on the out do not take a few packs of baccy and/or bags of cookies in payment for a wrap of smack
), methadone, IV morphine, various PCP, eticyclidine analogs, ketamine, and all sorts of other stuff, from MDMA and its beta-ketone analog methylone, to more unusual stuff like strychnine (it is well known as a poison, but in small doses its also a highly atypical type of stimulant, acting as an antagonist at strychnine-sensitive glycine receptors), DMT, yopo snuff (made from the seeds of certain trees in the genus Anadenanthera, main active is bufotenine, its traditionally used by some tribes of amazonian 'indians', diethyl ether, inhaled and by mouth, alpha-methyltryptamine, 5-methoxy-n,n-diallyltryptamine, amongst plenty of other stuff.
Interestingly (to me at any rate), I am not at all a fan of the entactogen/empathogens like MDMA/beta-C=O-MDMA etc. Other than, of the ones I have tried, alpha-methyltryptamine, a true full blown 5HT2aR agonist psychedelic, I have a theory that its got something to do with auties having less oxytocin in general, the so-called cuddle hormone, than NTs do, I am not built to be a touchy-feely loved up close contact fanatic...ICK:P Nasty!
Although I do recognize the great therapeutic and healing potential to those with PTSD o those who have been traumatized, or those who are closed off from themselves. I have PTSD myself, and after taking AMT (alpha-methyltryptamine, the only entactogen that really agrees with me, that I actually enjoy, thanks to it being a full blown classic psychedelic. Took it several times whilst on a long solo hike in my favourite woods, searching for wild mushrooms to eat, and for medicine, so I could be alone with my thoughts, pick through and analyze my emotions, and after many hours, starting early, before dawn, at first light, and after taking several carrier bags full of delicious wild fungi for breakfast, found myself a quiet little woodland glade, and curled up at the base of a tree, still tripping nicely ehehe, watching the world pass by, again enjoying being alone with my thoughts, and thankful for the ability to engage with the sources of my traumatic experiences responsible for my PTSD without it triggering my fight/flight response or being painful to recall or deal with, allaying my inherent fears that would otherwise bee, in a word, fucking well truly shit-your-britches terrifying on a gut level; after a good 4-5-6 hours ish of that part of my AMT work (heh, well, I daresay, mixing business with pleasure
), staying in my little clearing, I just curled around my tree and went to sleep.
Its helped me a ton, having got nowhere when trying to overcome my PTSD-related issues when completely un-influenced by anything other than my regular rx meds over a couple of years at least. I feel its time for another couple of mycological forays, with some AMT, a nice chilled crate of beer in my backpack, my rollups, MP3 player and some good herb
, and quacks like a 