Addicts Should Be Able to Shoot Up Legally in Safe-Injection Facilities

[Rustic]

I would be OK with that if ....

The money to create and maintain those injection sites doesn't come from the taxpayer.

It'd cost the government many times less than the present situation.

We don’t need any more socialist entitlement programs, because socialist entitlement programs are always a failure

 

[Claudette]

I have no sympathy for addicts.

As far as I'm concerned they can all drop the fuck dead.

 

[BookShaka]

It's been successful in hundreds of cities in Europe and Canada.

Addicts Should Be Able to Shoot Up Legally in Safe-Injection Facilities

To fight the opioid crisis, let users shoot up under medical supervision

Annual opioid fatalities have now surpassed the yearly number of deaths from AIDS at the height of that epidemic in the mid-1990s. In 2016 drug overdose deaths numbered 63,000, more than the U.S. death toll from the entire Vietnam War. The trend is terrifying: the problem is getting worse each year.

Cities and states reeling from opioid deaths need to give serious consideration to setting up safe injection rooms, which could significantly reduce fatalities. These are places where a drug user can go to consume illegal drugs under the supervision of health workers. They have been used in Europe, Canada and Australia for decades, and evidence and experience have shown that they are very effective. This may not seem like an obvious way to fight an abuse epidemic, but few other options exist. In the U.S., many cities' efforts to establish such sites have stalled, but now multiple cities have plans to open the country's first officially sanctioned injection sites. Philadelphia expects to do so in 2019. San Francisco, too, hopes to overcome legal and siting obstacles and open its first facilities this year. New York City's mayor has also endorsed setting up multiple sites at current needle-exchange programs.
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I understand the opioid crisis is a complex problem but as someone who’s struggled with opioid dependence, my initial reaction to safe injections sites is disgust. It tells me we’re giving up and might as well keep the sick sick bc being sick and alive is better than being dead?

Unless you’ve had a chemical addiction you have no idea what it’s like and I’m here to tell you it’s a shit life. Safe injection sites will please the addict but ruin the person. These people are NOT living. They’re existing and there’s a difference.

 

[BookShaka]

I have no sympathy for addicts.

As far as I'm concerned they can all drop the fuck dead.

That’s cold as fuck.

 

[BookShaka]

This certainly won’t encourage more addiction.
The League of Morons strikes again.

Exactly. We’re encouraging zombies to be zombies.

 

[Claudette]

I have no sympathy for addicts.

As far as I'm concerned they can all drop the fuck dead.

That’s cold as fuck.

But true as fuck.

 

[Silhouette]

This certainly won’t encourage more addiction.
The League of Morons strikes again.

Back in the day the best deterrent for heroin use was the STIGMA attached to using heroin. Make it "fun, with a safe place to do it!" and you might as well just line up high schoolers and euthanize them; because they're going to euthanize themselves with the drug that they see adults doing without any stigma at all.

 

[BookShaka]

It's been successful in hundreds of cities in Europe and Canada.

Addicts Should Be Able to Shoot Up Legally in Safe-Injection Facilities

To fight the opioid crisis, let users shoot up under medical supervision

Annual opioid fatalities have now surpassed the yearly number of deaths from AIDS at the height of that epidemic in the mid-1990s. In 2016 drug overdose deaths numbered 63,000, more than the U.S. death toll from the entire Vietnam War. The trend is terrifying: the problem is getting worse each year.

Cities and states reeling from opioid deaths need to give serious consideration to setting up safe injection rooms, which could significantly reduce fatalities. These are places where a drug user can go to consume illegal drugs under the supervision of health workers. They have been used in Europe, Canada and Australia for decades, and evidence and experience have shown that they are very effective. This may not seem like an obvious way to fight an abuse epidemic, but few other options exist. In the U.S., many cities' efforts to establish such sites have stalled, but now multiple cities have plans to open the country's first officially sanctioned injection sites. Philadelphia expects to do so in 2019. San Francisco, too, hopes to overcome legal and siting obstacles and open its first facilities this year. New York City's mayor has also endorsed setting up multiple sites at current needle-exchange programs.
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Folks that receive opioids in hospitals, returning Vietnam vets, none of these folks had problems.

Addiction is in the mind, it is not a physical problem, this is propaganda.

Withdrawal is physical and absolute hell. What do you think makes an addict desperate for that fix? Yes it was irresponsible to do the drug in the first place but addiction is a downward spiral. Most have to hit bottom to get better and these facilities obviously would interfere with that process and keep them hovered just above bottom. Like I already mentioned in another post, these people aren’t really living—not like the rest of us.

 

[Dana7360]

It's been successful in hundreds of cities in Europe and Canada.

Addicts Should Be Able to Shoot Up Legally in Safe-Injection Facilities

To fight the opioid crisis, let users shoot up under medical supervision

Annual opioid fatalities have now surpassed the yearly number of deaths from AIDS at the height of that epidemic in the mid-1990s. In 2016 drug overdose deaths numbered 63,000, more than the U.S. death toll from the entire Vietnam War. The trend is terrifying: the problem is getting worse each year.

Cities and states reeling from opioid deaths need to give serious consideration to setting up safe injection rooms, which could significantly reduce fatalities. These are places where a drug user can go to consume illegal drugs under the supervision of health workers. They have been used in Europe, Canada and Australia for decades, and evidence and experience have shown that they are very effective. This may not seem like an obvious way to fight an abuse epidemic, but few other options exist. In the U.S., many cities' efforts to establish such sites have stalled, but now multiple cities have plans to open the country's first officially sanctioned injection sites. Philadelphia expects to do so in 2019. San Francisco, too, hopes to overcome legal and siting obstacles and open its first facilities this year. New York City's mayor has also endorsed setting up multiple sites at current needle-exchange programs.
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I understand the reason for this and that it could save lives.

However why not invest that money in rehab facilities?

There aren't enough rehab facilities to help all those who want and need help.

I think that would be a very good place to start.

 

[BookShaka]

I have no sympathy for addicts.

As far as I'm concerned they can all drop the fuck dead.

That’s cold as fuck.

But true as fuck.

You’ve never known anyone suffering addiction I’m guessing.

 

[BookShaka]

The harm done by drug users is done to pay for outrageous prices charged by dealers. Theft and homelessness are the result.

Why not lock these people up and treat their addiction, rather than enabling it?

If only it were that easy. The thing is forcing addicts to get better doesn’t guarantee that once they’re clean and return to the real world they won’t use right away. An addict has to WANT to get better, otherwise once he has his freedom he’ll go straight for his drug.

 

[DigitalDrifter]

"To fight the opioid crisis, let users shoot up under medical supervision"

Assuming we want to keep these junkies alive.

 

[Dana7360]

This is caused a lot by the pharmaceutical companies.

A lot of this started with prescriptions for pain killers. Prescriptions that may not have been necessary when other less addictive drugs could have been prescribed.

In the early part of the century doctors were prescribing it like candy.

I know that I refused it in 2009 when I left the hospital after a near death accident with monster 15 ft waves.

Yes what I made the doctor prescribe me didn't work very well but I would have rather put up with that pain that I knew would get better with time and rehab than end up with an addiction on top of the injuries caused by the accident.

I was lucky, I knew about those drugs and refused them. Not all people knew about them and didn't know to refuse them. Millions of people trusted their doctors and became addicted to those drugs without even realizing it.

Then the drugs were taken away. People turned to street drugs.

It's a mess and it's wrong to blame the addict when they were trusting their doctor in the first place.

It's useless to point fingers of blame, that only excuses not taking the proper action to fix the problem or at least make it better.

Obviously what we've been doing thus far isn't working.

I think it's stupid to keep doing the same thing over and over expecting different results that will never happen.

I'm not advocating these shoot up places but I'm also not ruling out possible solutions.

I do know that more rehab facilities for those who want to get off the drugs need to be available. I think that would be a good place to start.

I do know that there isn't one solution to this problem and that everyone should keep an open mind to solutions.

That's one of the problems, people want to point fingers and expect one thing to solve this. When like most things in life, it's a combination of more than one action that will solve this problem.

 

[blastoff]

NIMBY.

But you lefty idiots are free to invite all the druggies you want into your yards. Best rent a port-a-potty though or they’ll leave their stinking piles of Obama everywhere.

 

[RoshawnMarkwees]

It's the harm reduction method. Either embrace the whole model or don't. Don't do it half ass.

It cuts down on HIV and Hep C drastically--which society most often picks up the tab for via taxes.

Also, people need to start recognizing that some of these deaths are suicide. They are trying to kill themselves.

No, this is poking holes into a sinking ship in order to let the water out.

 

[Papageorgio]

It's been successful in hundreds of cities in Europe and Canada.

Addicts Should Be Able to Shoot Up Legally in Safe-Injection Facilities

To fight the opioid crisis, let users shoot up under medical supervision

Annual opioid fatalities have now surpassed the yearly number of deaths from AIDS at the height of that epidemic in the mid-1990s. In 2016 drug overdose deaths numbered 63,000, more than the U.S. death toll from the entire Vietnam War. The trend is terrifying: the problem is getting worse each year.

Cities and states reeling from opioid deaths need to give serious consideration to setting up safe injection rooms, which could significantly reduce fatalities. These are places where a drug user can go to consume illegal drugs under the supervision of health workers. They have been used in Europe, Canada and Australia for decades, and evidence and experience have shown that they are very effective. This may not seem like an obvious way to fight an abuse epidemic, but few other options exist. In the U.S., many cities' efforts to establish such sites have stalled, but now multiple cities have plans to open the country's first officially sanctioned injection sites. Philadelphia expects to do so in 2019. San Francisco, too, hopes to overcome legal and siting obstacles and open its first facilities this year. New York City's mayor has also endorsed setting up multiple sites at current needle-exchange programs.
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So would we move them off heroin and over to other opioids? Would you be in favor of making these facilities open to any drug abuse?

 

[Tommy Tainant]

Bit bemused by some of the reactions on this thread. We are having this in my home town. Our Police Commisioner is pushing it because he is sick of having his officers deal with drug related issues all day.

The reason being that it will take spaced out junkies off the street and also reduce the number of needles in parks and play areas. Keeping the kids safe.

Its a sticking plaster rather than a solution but if it keeps kids safe and helps the addicts then that cant be a bad thing.

Of course what is needed is a joined up strategy to solve the problem but we have a conservative government and they dont do thinking.

 

[Picaro]

We don't need laws or morality, just do away with govt. and let people do whatever they want. It will be great ... lol no schools, no roads, nobody to enforce private property' laws, and all the dope and booze is free!

 

[Picaro]

It's been successful in hundreds of cities in Europe and Canada.

Addicts Should Be Able to Shoot Up Legally in Safe-Injection Facilities

To fight the opioid crisis, let users shoot up under medical supervision

Annual opioid fatalities have now surpassed the yearly number of deaths from AIDS at the height of that epidemic in the mid-1990s. In 2016 drug overdose deaths numbered 63,000, more than the U.S. death toll from the entire Vietnam War. The trend is terrifying: the problem is getting worse each year.

Cities and states reeling from opioid deaths need to give serious consideration to setting up safe injection rooms, which could significantly reduce fatalities. These are places where a drug user can go to consume illegal drugs under the supervision of health workers. They have been used in Europe, Canada and Australia for decades, and evidence and experience have shown that they are very effective. This may not seem like an obvious way to fight an abuse epidemic, but few other options exist. In the U.S., many cities' efforts to establish such sites have stalled, but now multiple cities have plans to open the country's first officially sanctioned injection sites. Philadelphia expects to do so in 2019. San Francisco, too, hopes to overcome legal and siting obstacles and open its first facilities this year. New York City's mayor has also endorsed setting up multiple sites at current needle-exchange programs.
<more>

Folks that receive opioids in hospitals, returning Vietnam vets, none of these folks had problems.

Addiction is in the mind, it is not a physical problem, this is propaganda.

Yep. Most people don't like it, it feels nasty and you feel like crap, and it constipates you. It isn't something normal healthy people would find addictive.

And besides, junkies will still just go hang out at their usual spots. My last visit to Switzerland I still saw lots of junkies on the streets and in the parks. Same in assorted German towns. Only fools think they are going to go sit in some waiting room all day and night.

 

[EverCurious]

This will work out right up until someone dies and their family realizes they can sue the city/state for it.

We had the same thing happen up here in Anchorage when we gave out apartments to homeless [aka drunken natives if we're going to be bluntly honest.] One of them died and the family sued the city, and won. There are no more apartments for the homeless here now.

In fact, in the same vein, we don't have an overnight shelter for them anymore because some lazy employee of the shelter didn't properly deal with blood after a drunken/stoned homeless fight - the insurance companies and city said no more overnighting there because they weren't going to risk the liability.


Now we go back to how it was before, when the homeless folks freeze to death on the streets. ~shrug~