Addicts in the Wake of a Major Disaster

[MooThulhu]

On their own, drug addicts desperate for a fix, are a generally scatter-brained bunch but will be easily controlled by their masters to do almost anything. They will be like raiding parties hitting the suburban neighborhoods, then retreating back into the urban hellholes.
Don't forget the greater danger from the local population that's unprepared and have families addicted to food and water..their brains won't be pre-cooked!.. and they live among you.

As for the addicts I think it often depends on what they are addicted to. Stimulant users (coke, meth, mdpv/4-mmc (AKA Bath Salts) are definitely pretty scatter brained. Junkies (as in opiate addicts) and benzo addicts can sometimes be pretty intelligent and are almost always missing their calling as actors.

One thing thats also easy to do is assume the only addicts we would see becoming threats is the ones we see begging for spare change or flying signs on the exits to the highway. Sure those people will eventually get to the suburbs looking for dope but what about the ones who are already here ?

Opiate addiction is pretty common in the suburbs/more affluent areas but doesn't end up being as visible because many of the users there are able to acquire their drugs legitimately through doctors or family members. When those people lose their supply you better bet they will do everything the other addicts will do and maybe even more to keep from detoxing.

It is also within the realm of possibility that some of the suburbs addicts will also have "Enablers" within their lives that may help them to some degree in whatever shenanigans they come up with to feed the monkey on their backs. While these people most likely won't go to the same lengths the addict will to help them get drugs, its within the realm of possibility that the addict may be able to convince their "enabler" that they will actually die if they don't get their fix (which is only really even possible for people addicted to things like Benzodiazapines and strangely enough alcohol, users of those can actually have seizures if they quit cold turkey).
Addicts can be very convincing sometimes and seeing someone you care about detoxing from an opiate can suck pretty bad, you just want to be able to end their pain and some people cave and do whatever it takes to make their loved one feel (temporarily) better. When you add to all of this the stress of being in a SHTF situation I could see a lot of people doing a lot of very bad things.



I do agree that the more common danger is definitely going to be coming from folks who are just trying to feed themselves and their kids. That said it is also important to understand as much as possible about the whole spectrum of threats so that we don't get completely caught unawares by the guy who lives two streets down and seems like an ok guy.

 

[Goosebrown]

God help us if all those Starbucks shutdown.

I hear they're like roaches. They're going to be there forever.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

So now let's put a different twist on the topic. What about medication required for a family member?

Very good question.
I would say that I would not steal from a person.
And the example earlier of stealing from a pharmacy like in World War Z for the main characters daughter , I have no issue with.
I would like to think that if I had to steal from a pharmacy I would leave some of the medicine behind for others ...

But to be honest I don't really know as I type this from the comfort of my armchair while sipping coffee out of harms way...

Its what you do when no one is watching or when you are truly in a hard spot that makes you the type of person that you really are.
Andy
Edit for pre-coffee spelling.

 

[IronMonster]

In a real shtf situation junkies won't be a big issue. They will all have to kick in the first 60 days or so as supply dwindles. The first 60 days are going to be the easiest because there will still be food and water and some semblance of normalcy.

 

[IronMonster]

So now let's put a different twist on the topic. What about medication required for a family member?

Mrs. USMC-03 has asthma for example; life would be far more difficult for her if inhalers are no longer obtainable.

Unfortunately a lot of people will die in a real shtf situation. There is no magic fix for that. If modern facilities and production go down "stores" of goods will only last so long. There are some people I care a great deal about in that group.

If we want to be honest I would guess something like 15% of the population needs some sort of modern medical magic to survive. Most of them would be lucky to pass quickly rather than suffer and die anyway. The people who it will really hurt are the ones who try and fail to save them.

Everyone dies, it's a given and nobody gets a pass.

 

[Member 5605]

I have enough 00BK and slugs at the house to eliminate all addicts within a 10 mile radius. I kid.. but I don't.

Addicts will be the first to clean out an area of what they are looking for then move to larger population districts where there and was a larger pre-issue supply.

Metro areas will be the danger zone. Albany poses a threat because it's near I-5, the main corridor through the willamette valley. Further away from the low area and I-5 the better you are.

The first 60 days are going to be the easiest because there will still be food and water and some semblance of normalcy.

Of course we all have speculation and it's great to read others opinions.

Eh, I think days 4-21 will be the hardest. JIT=Just In Time delivery methods and the average house holding enough food for 9 meals. The 4th day when people start running out and a week after so day +10 to +21 is going to be a test. After day 21 there is a rhythm established and a groove that those in need are leaving and or pillaging, dead or too scared because they watched somebody else die doing what they are doing and then they leave the area for more populous areas where the .Gov is giving out food.

First week will suck as everyone detoxes from everything that's power related.....

 

[Tony617]

I have enough 00BK and slugs at the house to eliminate all addicts within a 10 mile radius. I kid.. but I don't.

Addicts will be the first to clean out an area of what they are looking for then move to larger population districts where there and was a larger pre-issue supply.

Metro areas will be the danger zone. Albany poses a threat because it's near I-5, the main corridor through the willamette valley. Further away from the low area and I-5 the better you are.


Of course we all have speculation and it's great to read others opinions.

Eh, I think days 4-21 will be the hardest. JIT=Just In Time delivery methods and the average house holding enough food for 9 meals. The 4th day when people start running out and a week after so day +10 to +21 is going to be a test. After day 21 there is a rhythm established and a groove that those in need are leaving and or pillaging, dead or too scared because they watched somebody else die doing what they are doing and then they leave the area for more populous areas where the .Gov is giving out food.

First week will suck as everyone detoxes from everything that's power related.....

Yea I didn't grow up with the Internet but I see all kinds of younger people that use their smartphones constantly. I have smartphone but I won't cry if I cannot use when disaster strikes. We had a single phone line in the house that I grew up in and we had 4 VHF and 3 UHF channels on our TV. Sometime more if we get some stations from the Bay Area but that was pretty rare and we had a motorized rotor that rotated the TV antenna on the roof.

 

[Camelfilter]

Yea I didn't grow up with the Internet but I see all kinds of younger people that use their smartphones constantly. I have smartphone but I won't cry if I cannot use when disaster strikes. We had a single phone line in the house that I grew up in and we had 4 VHF and 3 UHF channels on our TV. Sometime more if we get some stations from the Bay Area but that was pretty rare and we had a motorized rotor that rotated the TV antenna on the roof.

Similar deal growing up in suburbia Boston, except we did have an Atari unit with I think 4 games. My dad rigged up the TV with a special chord so that my brother & I couldn't watch TV/play Atari until chores & homework were all done* after dinner. We had said dinner, as a family every day, up until we hit high school where sports/activities time hindered that-then it was Sunday dinner.

*My brother did rig up a bypass for that chord, which kinda worked . Lucky we/he never were electrocuted, but man was he sharp, and he wouldn't break out the bypass until my homework was all set.

 

[Medic!]

On their own, drug addicts desperate for a fix, are a generally scatter-brained bunch but will be easily controlled by their masters to do almost anything. They will be like raiding parties hitting the suburban neighborhoods, then retreating back into the urban hellholes.
Don't forget the greater danger from the local population that's unprepared and have families addicted to food and water..their brains won't be pre-cooked!.. and they live among you.

That nails it.

Everybody will need everything in short order.

 

[Tony617]

Similar deal growing up in suburbia Boston, except we did have an Atari unit with I think 4 games. My dad rigged up the TV with a special chord so that my brother & I couldn't watch TV/play Atari until chores & homework were all done* after dinner. We had said dinner, as a family every day, up until we hit high school where sports/activities time hindered that-then it was Sunday dinner.

*My brother did rig up a bypass for that chord, which kinda worked . Lucky we/he never were electrocuted, but man was he sharp, and he wouldn't break out the bypass until my homework was all set.

My mom did the same on weekdays; she took out the power cord from the TV. The only weekday were were allowed to after we got home from school was Friday. I did an end run round that since we had a Radio Shack close by so I was able to buy a compatible TV power cord. Not sure if ever admitted to my mom that I did that. She got home at 5:30PM everyday so I would turn the TV at 4:30PM so the allow the picture tube to cool down.

 

[AMProducts]

What kinda interests me about the Original Post... drugs are illegal, if someone is caught with drugs they're usually arrested, if they're selling drugs doubly-so. Drug dealers already have complex, redundant, clandestine distribution networks, and the price of their product is directly affected by market forces (supply/demand). A major natural disaster is probably not going to put the drug dealers out of business, however the closure of the banks, pawn shops, and all of the normal avenues for cash is going to mean the drug dealers are going to need to start taking barter (which they probably will for stolen guns, ammo, and other survival supplies)

Why does anyone think the drug supply will suddenly be cut off? Or that the meth zombies will suddenly start looking at other sources (pharmacies) for their fix? Chances are good the pharmacies will be raided by the normies looking for normal every day meds they think they need. Remember some years ago when people were freakout out about bird/swine flu and quasi-legal sources of tamiflu were going for hundreds if not thousands of dollars on ebay and craigslist?

In all honesty, I'd be willing to bet the drug dealers would probably be willing to smuggle in whatever meds you think you need, from anywhere you may need it for the right price. I don't know any drug dealers, but I would be interested to know what the limits of their supplies are.

 

[Medic!]

Scum bag, lowlife, drug addict.

Perfectly suited for the end times.

 

[Camelfilter]

It'd be interesting to see how the homeless fare in such a situation, you know like the folks who panhandle at near on EVERY major intersection.

How many are "moderately" self sufficient as is, with what's left over after buying whatever "fix", vs how many rely primarily on soup kitchen type deals.

 

[Brutus57]

God help us if all those Starbucks shutdown.

I hear nicotine turns people into nasty cuss'es as well.

Brutus Out

 

[Camelfilter]

I hear nicotine turns people into nasty cuss'es as well.

Brutus Out

Oh yah. I have options put up for hard times (gum), plus will likely be looking into getting some snuss to put up as well (depends on how well it keeps).

I've self rationed in the past, and would do so again in a heartbeat if there were a national disaster or SHTF happened. Plus, I'm an outdoors only smoker. Wouldn't smoke at any time after dark...

 

[Diamondback]

I hear nicotine turns people into nasty cuss'es as well.

Brutus Out

So does caffeine, or withdrawal therefrom...

Rule #23: Never mess with a Marine's coffee if you want to live.--SSA Leroy Jethro Gibbs, NCIS

 

[teflon6string]

What alarms me about this potential scenario would be that addicts quickly gravitate to whatever escape from reality they can lay their twitching grubby claws on. Can't get that heroin? Meth? Weed? Oxy? Red Bull? Whatever?

Soon enough in a SHTF situation, some desperate addict's frantic search for whatever works, even a little bit, would probably disrupt my own plans to swim a few laps in Whiskey River. And we'd have a problem.

 

[Koda]

addicts are low on the list of concerns the real concerns is the people who otherwise have their act together but didnt prep. Give them a couple weeks till their food and water is gone or rotten and they will come around...

 

[Deavis]

What kinda interests me about the Original Post... drugs are illegal, if someone is caught with drugs they're usually arrested, if they're selling drugs doubly-so. Drug dealers already have complex, redundant, clandestine distribution networks, and the price of their product is directly affected by market forces (supply/demand). A major natural disaster is probably not going to put the drug dealers out of business, however the closure of the banks, pawn shops, and all of the normal avenues for cash is going to mean the drug dealers are going to need to start taking barter (which they probably will for stolen guns, ammo, and other survival supplies)

Why does anyone think the drug supply will suddenly be cut off? Or that the meth zombies will suddenly start looking at other sources (pharmacies) for their fix? Chances are good the pharmacies will be raided by the normies looking for normal every day meds they think they need. Remember some years ago when people were freakout out about bird/swine flu and quasi-legal sources of tamiflu were going for hundreds if not thousands of dollars on ebay and craigslist?

In all honesty, I'd be willing to bet the drug dealers would probably be willing to smuggle in whatever meds you think you need, from anywhere you may need it for the right price. I don't know any drug dealers, but I would be interested to know what the limits of their supplies are.

Drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) require communication and transportation to work. If I-5 bridges for 500 miles dropped from an earth quake, the meth/coke/heroin pipeline would be severed, at least temporarily.

If the PNW was effected by catastrophe, and cash was not available for export (to Mexico) they would just continue to flood other markets. After the current supplies of drugs run out, The DTOs are not going to want to barter your tin of Coleman fuel and box of .22 shells for a gram of dope.

An example: I know they sell a lot of iPhones and Starbucks here in the PNW but not many in North Korea or Somalia. Hard to get the product in, and there is no cash to get out.

 

[CoastRange57]

Drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) require communication and transportation to work. If I-5 bridges for 500 miles dropped from an earth quake, the meth/coke/heroin pipeline would be severed, at least temporarily.

People have no idea how much dope comes up the I 5 and Hwy 97 corridors. Especially in the summer time. OSP does a good job of interdiction on these highways, but they only intercept a very small portion. They may nail a 20 pound load, but the 50 pound load drove right by them when they were counting the bundles by the road.

Hwy 97 in the summer time has such a heavy volume of traffic they dope dealers get lost in the crowd pretty easy. 97 can have bumper to bumper traffic from Klameth Falls to The Dalles on any given summer day.

Most of the stops they get they have knowledge of the loads down in North Central California, and finally get them in Southern Oregon. They got one a couple weeks ago headed east on 84.

As far as the dopers coming looking for easy marks, well that is what we all train and prep for right ??

They better come better prepared than me and get extremely lucky because they are really just annoying flies that need to be smashed flat as often as needed to maintain order.