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For several years now, it's been reported that life expectancy in the United States has been on the decline. Drug overdoses and suicides are allegedly playing a significant role in that multi-year decline. 

> “Life expectancy gives us a snapshot of the Nation’s overall health,...and these sobering statistics are a wake-up call that we are losing too many Americans, too early and too often, to conditions that are preventable.” - [CDC Director R. Redfield](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/us-life-expectancy-drops-third-year-row-reflecting-rising-drug-overdose-suicide-rates-180970942/)

Today, a child born in the United States is expected to live to at least 78.6 years old. 

Aside from drug overdoses and suicide playing a role, it's also suggested [that an increase in liver disease is to blame too](https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/09/us-life-expectancy-has-been-declining-heres-why.html).  Still, live expectancy does vary across the country, with some states having better rates than others. 

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# The happiest and healthiest state is said to be [Hawaii](https://www.today.com/health/happiest-healthiest-state-u-s-t69366).
<center></center> Followed by Alaska, Montana, [Colorado, and Wyoming](https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/09/06/the-50-counties-where-people-live-the-longest/40072465/). 

The [average life expectancy for other areas](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/07/27/life-expectancies-2018-japan-switzerland-spain/848675002/):
- Japan 84.2
- Switzerland 83.3
- Spain 83.1
- Canada 82.3
- Italy 82.5
- Australia 82.5

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# Drugs And Suicide
A great deal of people have lost their lives due to drug overdose and suicide. Right now suicide is a top 10 cause of death in the United States. Suicides are said to be at the highest rate they've been at in decades, there are millions of [people out here who are suffering](https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/11/29/18118601/suicide-rate-highest-decades-life-expectancy).  And many of them let's not forget *[are veterans](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/20-veterans-commit-suicide-each-day-the-va-wants-to-talk-about-it)*. This is just one of the consequences of pursuing a foreign policy that equates to *never-ending warmongering*. 

The drug war has also proven to be *utterly useless* in preventing drug addiction and overdose. Unfortunately, in several ways it has contributed to the problem greatly and helped to maintain the stigma against drugs and drug users. When they are looked at as criminals instead of patients, someone in need of help, that's going to do more harm than good. 

If doctors weren't so eager to pump out opioids unnecessarily, while at the same time aggressively seeking to restrict the freedom of people to access natural alternative options such as cannabis, cbd, kratom, or ibogaine etc,  then we might see <b>less of this problem</b>.

# The more opioids that doctors prescribe, *the more that they get paid*. 
<center></center>According to an analysis from [Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health](https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/opioids-doctors-prescriptions-payments/), doctors in the United States have been paid large sums of money by opioid manufacturers for speaking and consulting etc. As well, the more opioids they can dish out, the higher their payments will be. At the end of the day, it's up to you alone to decide what you want to put into your own body, but many people will respect, trust, and rely on the advice that their doctors are giving them. These pills are highly addictive and it's well known that opioid companies have a history of <b>[downplaying the risks associated](https://khn.org/news/purdue-pharma-sales-pitch-downplayed-risks-of-opioid-addiction/)</b>, while going through their sales pitch.

# More Treatment Freedom
<center></center>There are thousands of highly regulated pills and other products that have made it to the market that have been responsible for thousands of deaths or more. Prescription drugs are a *top leading cause of death* and while researchers and doctors, the media etc, might want to terrorize the public over things like cannabis or ibogaine, the truth is that they can *never come close* to inflicting the sort of harm on the public that pharmaceutical companies have been responsible for. I say give people *more freedom* to choose what treatment option they want to go with, don't force them to choose between opioids and suffering as many are left to do.


Pics:
pixabay

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## [Prestigious Medical Journal Calls For An End To The War On Drugs](https://steemit.com/freedom/@doitvoluntarily/prestigious-medical-journal-calls-for-an-end-to-the-war-on-drugs)