Grab some orange slices and your juice box, it's Story Time.

A family member guested their way into an Easter supper fraught with tension.  Apparently, one of the gals on board had recently been in "la bastille" for writing herself percocet prescriptions, as well as doing the same for a paramedic in a neighboring county.

Facts of the case:

1. Gal was a nurse authorized to use the pad.
2. Gal's husband worked in a faraway land, near Iowa.
3. Husband came home once monthly.
4. Gal managed the finances.
5. Couple were falling behind on bills and couldn't seem to "dig out."
6. At peak consumption Gal topped 15 pills per day.
7. Estimated quantity of pills acquired 20000+.
8. Bail cost Gal's folks almost $4000.

Mind you, this information is at least 3rd, and probably 4th hand.

Libertarian Conclusions:

1. On face, prescribing yourself medications and then taking them should not be legally wrong.  Until the story advanced further, I found myself thinking, "this a typical case of the government protecting people from themselves."  When Gal provides scrips to Paramedic-in-Neighboring-County (PiNC), she becomes a Distributer-of-Controlled-Substance (the bad kind of DoC).
2. A DoC ruins lives because they do not furnish information about the downside risks to end users.  A DoC may never know the end users, therefore, they harm the end users.
3. At 15 pills per day, this Gal likely used pills recreationally while on the job as a nurse.  Obviously a callous, dangerous, and risky prospect.

Dad Conclusions:

1. Without a target (focused personal desire for something), our efforts (waking up and doing work) have no aim (steps to accomplishment), and therefore, no meaning (personal satisfaction).  reference Once, On a Fishing Trip.
2. The world is tough and lonely.  A virtue of our existence is the combination of a man and a woman, for at least long enough to convince her to "get busy."  Everyone needs someone to be there for them because no one cares about you or your ends until it affects them.  That's reality.  A someone can be a spouse, a fishing buddy, a mentor, a parent, or even a psychologist.  Children cannot and should not be given this responsibility.  Heaping love or frustration on a child is escapism.
3. Pleasure seeking behavior is also a form of escapism.  What this gal was escaping from we cannot know for sure.  We can be sure that she wasn't going to find the answer in the bottom of a percocet bottle and that people driven by self-satisfaction are less likely to seek crutches.
4. Don't consolidate your financial assets in the hands of one person.  Also, have a complete understanding of how your efforts are being converted into wealth, and how that wealth is being converted into security.
5. If you willfully harm other people (eg - feelings, finances, trust) you are an asshole worthy of being socially isolated.

Final Word:  It's never too late to restore balance to your personal universe.  One of this lady's goals can be to pay off the bail debt promptly (righteous) and another to reform her opioid ways (personally useful).  Accomplishing these tough, though manageable goals, will inspire confidence to aim for and achieve still bigger targets.

In the end, if reckless pleasure seeking must be the only way to live then die happy in a rented sports car driven over a cliff.  Don't put yourself or your family through the cycle of angst brought about with dependence.

Want something - Get it.