Nothing wrong with this being on the front page. Just posting this here as a question. Is the reason why this is on the front page because a good number of software engineers addicted? Maybe you don't have the numbers but you yourself who's reading this may be personally interested in a vaccine?
Not me personally, but I distanced myself from some close college friends when I figured out they were using heroin. Both later cleaned up, one relapsed, and I bumped into the other at the funeral.
So, yeah, the opiate problem effects more than just users.
I think it’s more about interest in the system, threat and the mitigation. The technical nature of biochemistry attracts many to this forum. Biohackers if you will.
Additionally I think a lot of hacker types are just interested in drugs and drug policy. There are lots of back and forths on here about "legalize all drugs" and stuff like that. There's a lot of hacker-related threads running through drug topics - there's the whole "hacking your mind" / psychonaut angle, there's the sorta libertarian intersection with the law, there's the counter-culture ideas and historical interest.
Even as a kinda drug-interested guy though, I've always thought of opioids as strictly off limits recreationally, just too many downsides and they don't have the same "expand your mind" appeal as psychedelics or even weed. (Not really endorsing the idea of mind expansion, I think it's oversold, but it's part of the culture).
Not necessarily addicts, but where fentanyl is poisoning the illegal street market, even those once a month cocaine or illegal ketamine or mdma users are at risk, not just oxycontin addicts. Even purchasers of Adderall have to be careful these days. And vaccines are just cool technology. Why wouldn't I take this thing that makes me immune to as certain type of poisoning. It may not be for iocaine power but I'll take that vaccine as soon as it comes out!
