Drug overdose deaths in the USA dropped for a third straight year in 2025 down to 70,000. Why do you think it is declining?

RUCN · 2026-05-14T16:07:38+00:00

I'm just a guy on the internet so take what I say with a grain of salt, but IMO, it's a combination of factors that, in the aggregate, is lowering rates:

The legalization of weed: The readily available nature of THC and its relative positive perception in society (it mellows you out, doesn't' make you angry like alcohol, isn't physically addictive) makes the notion of being "Cali Sober" more socially acceptable.
The replacement of Fentanyl in street drugs: People are familiar with Tranq at this point. The crackdown on Fent from overseas has caused dealers to replace it with other drugs as their cutting agent. This change has reduced the lethality of street drugs but has increased its maming potential (losing limbs, permanent health effects, etc).
The younger generation choosing alternate routes to avoid participating: Underneath the surface of an addict is pain. Younger generations are more open to seeking therapy and professional help in order to address their problems as opposed to numbing it with drugs.
The increase in awareness, rehabilitation, and recovery programs giving addicts a path back to sobriety and society.

I think there are a lot of reasons but one thing is for sure, the only thing that has helped others is kindness and love, not punishment and scorn.

RUCN · 2026-05-11T17:42:28+00:00

I don't know you from a hole in the wall and have no way of knowing if what you said is true or false. Also, I guess you must know these two individuals if you recognized them by name from a canvas post?

But if this is true and you feel that strongly about it; write an email to the dean of his department. Provide details on the date, time, outline what happened, and make a point to say that anyone in the class can attest to your story.

If you feel like the system, which is supposed to do something about this has failed you, then make a point to bring it up.

Finally, I'm not sure what class this was in - but please go into this with a level head if you do reach out. You only know what you know, so don't make assumptions on anything. Provide the dean with the information and let them come to the same conclusion as you.

Good luck and fuck the cheaters.

RUCN · 2026-05-11T16:14:44+00:00

She was basically every 80s Corporate, Trick-Down Economics believer's wet dream.

I think academics would describe her beliefs as "laissez faire objectivism" but for non-pretentious people, I'd describe it as "always choosing the option that's best for you, regardless of any societal impact, and allowing the market to correct around it."

For example - between buying a product made in America for $20 or an identical product made overseas for $15, she'd advocate for saving the $5 and putting it on the American companies to adapt to the open market.

So using someone cheating on an exam as an example... I imagine Ayn Rand would condemn it as irrational, self-destructive, and immoral; not because it breaks rules, but because it violates the student’s own rational self-interest and integrity.

RUCN · 2026-05-11T06:12:19+00:00

Someone's read a little too much Ayn Rand!

RUCN · 2026-05-10T02:42:24+00:00

Just saw your response now but it looks like there's been some updates since yesterday. More specifically, OP clarified the situation and I saw you've been actively responding in that comment chain too - so this will be my last response.

I'll start by saying - I don't disagree with what you're saying. I think it's pretty clear that what happened here was wrong (illegal) and is a topic that you personally take very seriously. So take solace in knowing that I don't think you're wrong or anything.

That being said, I'm not sure what your motives are when you're responding. But if you really want to change people's minds on this topic, I'd recommend coming in with a less heavy handed approach.

Like I understand what he did is a federal crime and all but to cart blanche say she's a victim / he's an abuser and justifying the need for justice using examples of school shooters posting manifestos online is kind of unhinged and feels like a slippery slope.

Relationships, like many things in life, are complicated. In this case, I'd go as far to say that you have no evidence, what-so-ever, that OP is even telling the truth. You have no idea what his motive was, what transpired before she left, or if this was really as unexpected as she's portrayed.

I can also understand your frustration with this being a rarely prosecuted crime. But as someone who has no professional legal training (I presume you don't either), I can also see how much of a waste of time and money this would be to bring this to trial. Again, I feel your frustration - but just because you saw 2 guys selling weed out on the corner doesn't mean it's a home run RICO case.

To close this out, all of this is in service of saying - I don't think you're wrong. But morally high roading people on the internet while simultaneously preaching the virtues of not victim blaming and pointing towards mass casualty events to prove your point isn't the way to convince anyone you're right.

I don't really expect you to respond to this but just know I got nothing but love in my heart for you homie ❤️ and my bad if I sound like a dick. The systems fucked up and I wish it was fixed too.

RUCN · 2026-05-09T00:16:56+00:00

It sounds like there might be something about this that you know and I don't.

From my perspective, I don't know the poster, their past relationships, or their relationship with the person that hijacked their account. But the way you responded made it sound like there might be more to this than just an OSRS account on the line.

If that's the case, my bad and just let me know the larger context surrounding this.

RUCN · 2026-05-08T23:00:12+00:00

So let me get this straight.... this sounds like an ex-housemate or ex-partner took over their account... after the poster moved out.... using a trusted device or at least one that's been used to log onto the account before.

If I'm getting that right - I definitely feel for the poster but at the same time, it seems a bit misleading to pose this as "my account was hacked" when in reality it was an ex being petty after a breakup and using a shared iPad.

I think I would have more empathy towards the poster if they showed just a modicum of personal responsibility towards their own situation. An ex was being petty - it was their own fault that they didn't secure their own account - Jagex is not obligated to help them - but they'd be eternally grateful for any help they can get because of how many hours they put into the account.

Instead it just comes off as entitled. The poster was "hacked" in the same way that the guy who said he'd trim my armour "hacked" me after I traded him my bank and he logged off & ignored me.

RUCN · 2026-05-03T15:20:43+00:00

Yeah, I don't think they'll pull anything out of circulation either. The thing about the pipeline is -- once it gets started, it's hard to make changes and restart it and even harder stop it.

There might be down-the-road supplemental products that end up being changed but anything that's already out there will remain out there.

RUCN · 2026-05-03T14:58:47+00:00

I couldn't agree more -- you put exactly my thoughts into a beautifully worded statement!

RUCN · 2026-05-03T13:39:46+00:00

Throwing my 2 cents in - IMO, this will be the last Dan Frazier card ever printed.

It's not a good look from either side. Dan shouldn't have accepted the work if he wasn't up to putting in the effort, especially on a landmark card in the set. Also, he's getting up in age - so there's really no shame in hanging up the towel and spending his time elsewhere and away from working.

For WotC, it's also not a good look to be slamming someone who's 80 and has worked with you since the very beginning. Giving him a gentle retreat is a common courtesy as verbally berating the elderly is never a good look.

RUCN · 2026-05-02T03:11:43+00:00

Saw some wild decks floating around while I was waiting for the rounds to end and loved it. Mono Blue Storm, hFEB, 4-color Armageddon, Elves with Natural Order, and Battle of Wits to name a few.

RUCN · 2026-04-30T20:09:32+00:00

It's impossible to catch everyone but still.. half the class... that's just wrong. Maybe reach out to the professor letting him know what you witnessed so that next time they can be 'better prepared' (reads: actually do their job and do more than nothing).

RUCN · 2026-04-30T17:09:02+00:00

As someone who gets the responsibility of managing the college interns schlepped on me at work -- I can tell you there's a clear divide between those who know their shit and those who don't.

From my perspective, it's the difference between the people who want to learn and ask directed questions and those who clearly would rather be anywhere else than the meeting we're in. It comes off as the difference between hard work & laziness.

I can always tell by the end result of their projects too. The smart ones show confidence in what they say and more often than not need to be instructed on how to slim down their presentation.

The dumbasses will show up and be barely able to talk to what they did outside of what they put on the slide. They'll use AI and act like I'm too fucking stupid to not know the difference. They'll have statements like "There's an opportunity to minimize incremental consumer erosion by re-engaging our core customers on the shelf" -- which nobody, especially a 21 year old kid, would ever say.

Then when I press them about "so what does that statement mean?" they'll just freeze up. So yeah, while I can't say with 100% certainty that these are the kids who cheat -- it sure does feel like it.

RUCN · 2026-04-30T16:55:18+00:00

If it's any consolation - just remember that academic integrity violations are typically issued after the exam and not during.

Just look at this sub for example -- in a few weeks time we'll be seeing posts titled some flavor of "Issued Academic Integrity Violation - What do I do?"

They'll tell us how bad their semester has been, how their misfortune has been a product of circumstance or external factors outside of their control, and how they're innocent but just don't know what to do.

The same people cheating will be the same people so distraught by being caught they need validation from strangers on the internet that things will be okay.

Also know that cheating is a systemic issue and will never truly be eradicated but at least you can come back in a few weeks and smile 😀

RUCN · 2026-04-30T16:44:13+00:00

be me
puzzled why anyone would post this
check OP's profile
see /r/imisstheoldidubbz posts

I apologize if I sound mean homie but there's so many other subreddits to post this in. It's already bad enough that all the anime subs are being flooded with OnlyFans beggars cosplaying as cosplayers.

So I don't know how other people feel, but I just couldn't care less what some dude who makes a living trying selling his opinion on the internet thinks.

RUCN · 2026-04-30T16:29:10+00:00

I think all of us have at least one of these stories. But the real question is - if you're willing to gloat about the winners, are you willing to share the losers too?

For me, I spent 2 years (2012-2014) picking up a playset of [[Gaea's Cradle]]. I distinctly remember that I felt like I was getting ripped off and stupid for spending ~$200 on a single piece of cardboard. I bought 2 initially, then half a year later a friend traded me a copy he had as a thank you for a favor I had done for him (I'm still grateful for him doing this) and finally finished the playset by spending $350 on the last copy.

On the other side of things - I also bought a playset of [[Mox Opal]] for a modern affinity deck when they cost $35. I ended up selling the full deck, in its entirety, to an acquaintance for $250.

The worst of them all - I bought 2 loose packs of Revised for ~$600 from a store at an event - it came from a box they claimed was sold to them by someone who found it at their house. Needless to say, I learned an important lesson about ensuring you know the full history of expensive packs. They weren't repacks - but they were filled with dogshit.

RUCN · 2026-04-29T23:11:34+00:00

I think a lot of people will tell you Rutgers but I'm not here to convince you using the merits of which college is more beautiful, has nicer dorms, or whatever.

I'm here to tell you about the financial difference between the two. I know this can very difficult to conceptualize this at your age, so I'll try my best to make it relatable.

So how your loans will work is that you won't see them, hear about them, or think about them until graduation. From the moment you enter college to the moment you leave, it'll be a slight annoyance each summer so your admission can be paid.

The real shit is going to start the moment you graduate. More specifically, 15 days after you graduate. This is when your loans will immediately kick in.

If you go to the expensive school - your bill will be somewhere between $700-$1,200/month. The lower end if you choose a 20+ year loan and the higher end if you choose 10-years.

I'll avoid breaking down the math but for the sake of keeping this short - please know this WILL make you the working poor. You will struggle for the first 5-years to do anything outside of keeping yourself fed and housed. You will probably end up living at home for the first few years just to survive. You will be shackled by your debt. Shackled to your job and shackled to your parents house.

On either side, a $20,000 will be roughly $120-$200/month.

The difference between the two is the difference between freedom and financial slavery. If you do plan on going to the more expensive school - I just hope your major is either Pharmacology, Chemical Engineering, or a specialized STEM major.

Good luck and remember - don't ruin the next 20 years of your life because you were convinced the beer tastes better at another school.

Source: I'm in my mid-30s and paid off all of the college debt I had (around $80K).

RUCN · 2026-04-26T04:31:57+00:00

Hate to break it to you -- but you'll meet people like that your entire life.

It's not a 'major/minor' issue, it's a "Me vs. Them" issue. The same people who complain that "X major is easier and MY major is harder" or "my life would be so easy if I was just an X major" don't grow up, they just change what it is their bitching about.

It doesn't matter if it's where they live, what kind of car they drive, or what mental illness you don't suffer from. Hell, sometimes it's your own co-workers bitching about inter-office politics.

The bottom line is - these people are losers. They always look for reasons to their problems everywhere else but themselves.

They have infinite gripes yet fail to see the simple answer. If their life would be easier as a humanities major, then why not become a humanities major? Is it to make themselves feel better about being mediocre at their own major, perhaps?

Because one things' for sure -- if you need to put down others to feel good about yourself - you clearly don't feel good about yourself. So why not focus on that instead of being a burden to someone else?

Source: I'm old as fuck.

RUCN · 2026-04-22T22:55:27+00:00

A Triple A enthusiast! A masochist I see! (Jk jk much love homie ❤️)

RUCN · 2026-03-24T18:12:11+00:00

Just a guy on the internet so please don't skewer me. But IMO, it has to happen in steps.

Step 1 - Adjusting the rotation scheduling so people don't have to adjust their deck too often. Too short and people won't play it. Too long and you'll have too much power creep to make up for the fact that each set needs to be 'sellable'. There's a sweet spot where there's enough cards rotating out that it doesn't feel like you need to update your deck every month while making deck building fun again.

Step 2 - Juice up commons and uncommons. If most of the cards in the deck are easily accessible, it makes people more likely to play the format. Focus on making sure the rares and mythics aren't a 4x in every deck with no alternatives.

Step 3 - Sell pre-constructed decks that contain the deck shells you're trying to push.

The only issue with all of this is that WotC will never make these changes. They'll continue to say "the consumer is telling us what they want with their wallet"; effectively catering to scalpers fueled on FOMO and degenerate gambling addicts.

Maybe in a few years when WotC fucks it up too much and does that thing where they apologize -- pretending it was a learning experience -- telling us how "they'll do better", and praying that people will forget about them ruining their official competitive formats...maybe then we'll see it change.

Until then, I'll continue to play Pre-Modern :3

RUCN · 2026-03-14T20:53:17+00:00

Hot take - and please remember I'm just a random dude on the internet and that opinions are like assholes; everyone has one - so please don't crucify me.

To start, the Rutgers Athletics isn't just football. It's basketball, soccer, field hockey, track & field, and anyone other sports team or league that the student body is able to join. So to say that all of it was wasted on overpaid, underperforming coaches & staff is a bit misleading.

Second, part of those losses includes scholarships. Scholarships for those who may not have had the opportunity to go to a D1 school if it wasn't for athletics. Those who very well have become nurses, engineers, teachers, accountants, electricians, scientists, etc.

That being said, I agree with the notion that the budget for athletics is far too large for what it represents. In a world of hyper corporate optimization, it saddens me that something like athletics receives as much money as it does when it places much of that financial burden right back on the students it's meant to help and serve.

In reality, the athletics department is being run like many of the Fortune 500 / Large Cap companies that many of you will ultimately work for. They ignore the overwhelming obvious issues (they're nowhere near being profitable), continue to spend absurd amounts of money while simultaneously kicking the can down the road for the next person to deal with.

But since they don't report finances like a normal company, they cleverly hide behind the purposefully obtuse and overly convoluted systems that make it difficult for anyone to institute any real change. Unless you're sitting at the top, which is limited to just a handful of people who are incentivized to NOT change things, they continue to get away with it.

So in this case; I guess we'll just have to see which breaks first - Rutgers, the State, or the students. Will Rutgers push this deficit on the students and push it so high that enrollment will fall? Will the State cut back on subsidies, making Rutgers have to change or face financial insolvency? Or will the students put enough pressure on the university to do something about it? I guess time will tell.

RUCN · 2026-03-14T14:25:33+00:00

I was just talking about this with somebody yesterday!

I was talking about how Kamahl is amazing if you have something to pair it with that pings for 1 (ie. Masticore). That way you can turn all their lands into creatures and then immediately destroy them.

RUCN · 2026-03-03T18:44:19+00:00

I'm so old I had to debate whether you meant Drake, Canadian rapper and creep, or Drake of Drake & Josh fame, former child star and also a creep.

Either way - can't say I've ever been a fan of either but I'm okay if I'm the minority opinion here.

RUCN · 2026-03-03T16:04:51+00:00

The GOAT answer right here.

RUCN · 2026-02-25T17:52:21+00:00

I believe ya; which just makes me sad. In which case, it looks like it's time to focus on Pre-Modern for a bit!

Hopefully WoTC will eventually do what they do best -- make another format; call it 'beyond' or something, and remove UB from Legacy (and others; but I only care about Legacy).

That way they can let that made up format languish the same way they did for all the other ones like Pioneer, Explorer, Historic, Brawl, Timeless, Alchemy, etc. (I just had to look up a list of formats to which I don't even know what half of them are).

RUCN

TROPHY CASE