Observation on narcotics

I can't say I'm a big fan of narcotics, particularly the vicodin, percocet, darvocet, oxycodone, oxycontin set.

I'm sure that for some people, they are a godsend, but I've also seen a fair amount of evidence to suggest that maybe, oh maybe, they're not all they're cracked up to be.

For me, they don't make a dent. If I need a painkiller, I'm better off with an Aleve, or an aspirin, or a cup of coffee or glass of whisky for that matter.

And I know a bunch of other people for whom the pills don't kill the pain, or if they do also have a host of nasty side effects.

It makes me think of anesthesia: Something that's a good tool but nobody knows why it works. I heard a doctor recently saying he thought the painkillers don't actually "kill" the pain, but just give your mind something else to occupy it.

Of course, to be fair the medical sciences haven't had many years since coming out of the Dark Ages (i.e. pre-1900 or so), so there should still be a lot of mysteries.

Maybe that's why I find the field appealing: I like undiscovered country.