I will admit that these two articles have nothing to do with each other except the whole aspect of two animals being under the influence of a drug. Another similarity between these two subjects is that both can be very destructive to themselves and others.

Starting off with the doctor being fired for drinking on the job

When I saw this, it kind of reminded me of a House TV episode except the whole part that in reality you get fired for such behavior. I know doctors jobs are stressful, probably more than most, but hopefully he didn’t act surprised when a patient noticed the smell of whiskey on his breath.

So according to the Associated Press a doctor in Massachussets, “lost the right to renew his medical license for allegedly trying to give a pregnant woman an epidural while drunk”. So not only is he putting himself in danger, he is putting a mother and her unborn child at risk as well. The story goes on to say that his right to renew his license will be reinstated if he stays sober for 18 months. That just sounds ridiculous to me. If a doctor is ever caught drinking on the job then his license should be revoked hands down, never, no way, gone, no more license. I don’t think that is being extreme at all. I understand jobs are stressful, but find some other way to alleviate please, especially if you are sticking needles in people.

Now on to the Chinese Heroin Addicted Elephant

So apparently illegal elephant traders laced bananas with heroin so they could control an elephant. Seems like an expensive way to take control of an elephant but what do I know, I’m not an illegal elephant trader. If you are an illegal animal trader let me know why using heroin is the best way to control an animal in general, or if that is just the best way for elephants.

The traders got arrested in 2005 and the elephant was found going through drug withdrawal. The Chinese government had to send the elephant to a detox program that took two years to clear the elephant of its heroin addiction. According to Reuters, “A year of methadone injections at five times the human dosage had helped wean Xiguang off his addiction”. That is good to hear.

I hope this article helps anyone who notices someone buying large amounts of heroin, so you know it could be an illegal animal trader.