The Top 15 Most Dangerous Drugs

Credit: Alex Green / Pexels.com

That’s the first title that popped up on this week’s Google search for Fatal Drugs. That search was catalyzed by a news report I heard Tuesday morning about the newest fatal drug, a deadly synthetic opioid found in Florida called Isotonitazene—commonly referred to as ISO.

According to reports, ISO is approximately 20 to 100 times stronger than fentanyl—an already incredibly dangerous opioid. Similar to fentanyl, this new synthetic opioid is being mixed with other drugs and appearing in the illicit drug market—possibly in powder or pill form. Often, users have no idea that a lethal synthetic opioid is mixed into a drug until it is too late.

The list of the top 15 most dangerous drugs looks like this:

1. Alcohol
2. Fentanyl
3. Heroin
4. Hydrocodone
5. Methadone
6. Morphine
7. Oxycodone
8. Cocaine
9. Methamphetamines
10. Alprazolam (Xanax)
11. Diazepam (Valium)
12. Nicotine
13. Synthetic Cannabinoids (K2/Spice)
14. MDMA (Ecstasy)
15. Ketamine

My feeble mind has difficultly comprehending what would motivate any rational person to knowingly take the risk of ingesting any substance known to produce fatal results. Or to become dependent on any substance that may not be fatal with moderate use but is disastrous when moderation is ignored.

A close friend of mine is currently captivated and captured by one of the drugs in this list. It saddens me and many others to see the devastating effect this drug is wreaking on my friend, his wife, children, grandchildren, and many friends, all of whom love him dearly and respect him deeply.

A chunk of my time and attention this week and next will be spent trying to provide help in this most difficult situation. Addiction to drugs of any kind can and usually does have devastating, even fatal, consequences. Intervention, sometimes the last resort, often has surprisingly positive results.

That’s what I’m working and praying for in my unnamed friend’s current battle for life. Please remember him in your prayers. Please also remember his family and friends in your prayers.

And please, please, stay away from dangerous drugs!

The Vaccine

Credit: Artem Podrez / Pexels.com

By now most people in the U.S. and beyond are aware that the initial round of Covid-19 vaccine was distributed and administered to first responders in our land on Monday, December 14.

Seemingly almost as significant as the first moon landing by astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on July 20, 1969, Monday’s news thoroughly covered the first vaccination recipients.

It was rather dramatic seeing a young Jamaican immigrant nurse in New York receive her shot, caringly, deliberately, and professionally administered by a fellow health care worker.

Under Operation Warp Speed, the U.S. government’s coronavirus-response program, a total of 55 sites nationwide had received vaccine shipments by around noon on Monday, with about 600 additional locations scheduled to receive shipments by Wednesday.

Pharmaceutical companies including Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, BioNTech, Moderna, Novavax, Vaxart, and AstraZeneca were at the forefront in vaccine research and development. Their stock prices responded significantly, one of them increasing by more than 3,000% year-to-date.

What everyone wants to know, yours truly included, is when will it be OK to quit wearing those annoying masks? Some have questioned their effectiveness from the get-go. But masks are worn by almost everyone at most places I go these days. No doubt in many cases not willingly.

Though I cannot speak for everyone, most folks I know are just plain tired of the interruptions and inconveniences imposed upon their lives by this unwelcomed intruder called Covid-19, a coronavirus bringing with it the non-everyday household term pandemic.

Much more significant and tragic has been the infection of millions, resulting in more than 300,000 deaths in our country, reportedly connected directly or indirectly with Covid-19. Sadly, COVID has delayed if not permanently forestalled appropriate and traditional funeral gatherings.

Just this past week, three longtime friends of mine passed away. Gone, at least for the moment, are the heavily attended memorial services facilitating both the grieving process for surviving loved ones and the opportunity for friends and relatives to demonstrate their love and respect for the deceased.

One of my departed friends had requested that I preach at her memorial service. Because the service will be in Houston, currently experiencing a notable COVID spike, I inquired about the possibility of sharing that memorial message via … you guessed it … Zoom. It was a nice try.

All these thoughts and observations aside, I imagine most of you are joining me in thanking God for the development, production, and administration of Covid-19 vaccine. God be praised!

Vernon and Betty Gundermann

Last Saturday afternoon, June 4, Concordia Lutheran Church in Kirkwood, Missouri, held a special worship service of thanksgiving to God for his servants Vernon and Betty Gundermann. It was my challenging privilege to be the preacher. Sermon title: God’s Gifts. Your Legacy.

It was a privilege because Terry and I were blessed to have Vern for our pastor during our nine years in St. Louis when I served as president of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Vern was an excellent pastor in every respect. I also considered him the best preacher in the LCMS.

Sadly, not all of our nine years were filled with joyful activities and experiences. Particularly during some of my most difficult days in office, I had the “privilege” of receiving communications from or attending meetings with people who my dear Terry aptly describes as “joy suckers.” They sucked the joy right out of life and ministry.

At such times, Pastor Gundermann had an uncanny, almost surreal, perhaps even supernatural way of knowing and feeling the struggles we were experiencing. Incredibly, upon returning from such joy sucking experiences, Terry and I were greeted, virtually every time, with a phone message from our pastor, assuring us of his prayers, his love, his support, his encouragement.

In addition to Vern’s wonderful pastoral ministry of encouragement and support, his dear wife Betty became a very important person in the life of my dear wife Terry. Not many folks who live outside a pastor’s home know or understand the unique concerns, stresses, frustrations and worries of a pastor’s wife. Betty possessed a keen sensitivity to what pastors’ wives were likely to experience, including a pastor’s wife whose husband had become a national church president.

In our toughest times, Betty was there for Terry, to encourage her, to cry with her and to laugh with her. Betty was and to this very day still is an indescribably close friend of my dear Terry.

Preaching at last Saturday’s service was a challenge because Vern’s normal activities and abilities have been altered by the effects of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), more commonly called Lou Gehrig’s disease. Knowing what to say and how to say it was tough. Yet through it all Vern maintains a realistic attitude of joy and thanksgiving. I pray the Spirit blessed my words.

In one of his weekly updates, Vern acknowledged that no longer will he be able to say or sing a single word. He also wrote: “Life is good. Life is changing. Life is good. Do keep Betty in your prayers. Every change for me adds a task to her life! She now shaves me, puts on my socks and so much more. And she does it all with a good spirit. Little did we understand [on June 25, 1961] the words of our marriage vows ‘in sickness and in health.’ It is not easy living with one who cannot speak and whose eyesight is quite dim.”

Last week hundreds gathered to thank God for Vern and Betty Gundermann! It was a day to remember! God has given them many gifts! They will leave a legacy!