While needle exchange seems theoretically like the right thing to do, in practice it doesn't end well. It sends a signal that not only is the behavior okay but it is encouraged. Non-profit industries pop up around these areas to serve these people. And those non-profits want to ensure their existence. Neighborhoods are left with the train wreck. When I see a drug addict on the ground, I often wonder if a traumatic childhood led to this path. Decades ago, writer/psychiatrist Dr. Scott Peck wrote that he wasn't surprised at how many broken people there were, the surprise was that there weren't more thus there seemingly was an impulse towards leading a decent life. Our current culture has removed that true north for so many. I don't know what the answer is, but needle exchanges without true drug intervention is not the answer.
As for the AIDS epidemic, I remember and activist warning me that my brother should not take the AZT protocol because it was poison being given. I couldn't get my head around this notion in the mid-90s, but I can now. I remember the deaths of handsome young men. They were terrible and painful. Was it the result of the disease or the protocol?
Thanks for this constructive contribution. I don't disagree. A watched a very dear gay friend waste away before AZT was available., and it was an absolutely horrible death. My sole real issue here is how best to respond to the add-on disease epidemics that lurk under the surface. Are you suggesting that the cure of clean needles to protect non-users is not worth it because of the increase in addiction? That is an argument to consider, and I am concerned that normalizing needles can be an imprimatur of approval, but I have not seen that in evidence.... Certainly not in numbers to justify allowing preventable diseases to spread. I see it as a sanitation issue. Perhaps they should post a cop instead of a nurse at the sites to interrogate users about where they get their xylazine and fentanyl.... :)
Peter Santenello produced a "documentary" in Burlington. @48:00 Decker Towers Senior facility has seen an increase of drug addicts making use of the facility because Narcan is available there. The entire documentary is worthwhile: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2lA_DsvuvY
AIDS/HIV: was this another gain of function operation? Consider AIDS INC: Scandal of the Century by Jon Rappoport and Serious Adverse: An Uncensored History of AIDS by Celia Farber. I think we need to address addiction. We certainly should not be providing synthetic drugs in prisons. There is a discussion in the documentary about holding drug users accountable in the court system, as well, which seems to be effective.
I don’t have an answer for this….. but I see similarities with this and “homelessness”. In Burlington, out of “compassion “ (I really hate that word) the mayor facilitated encampment’s on Pine Street. All summer it grew. Then the fire marshal said it was tinderbox waiting to go up. They had to tear it all down right when cold weather was coming on. Now what do those homeless people do? Not very compassionate in my opinion.
By the way, Hepatitis c is easily treated with modern medicine (according to the Mayo Clinic).
Thanks. I am emphatic that more police and prosecution is required, but clean needles are not subsidized housing: they are a very low-cost intervention that protects both users and the rest of us from additional diseases. Even if Hep c is treatable (I have friends who did so successfully), it often goes unnoticed and can do damage in the interim -- and it would be better if no one had it. Thanks Stephen!
I had to stop at the point you emphasized that there is no study or proof that these sites increase drug trafficking. Just read Michael Shellenberger. That alone should be enough.
I am unaware and happy to be corrected there. However, if you keep reading that still doesn't answer the questions regarding dieases spread. I am happy to be proved wrong -- I just think these other diseases and their connection to needles should be discussed, and neither side has.
I go to family of alcohols meeting on a regular basis and also haven’t had a drink in decades. I didn’t and don’t identify as an alcoholic but I wanted to show loved ones I was onboard with not using. I do hear the tragic stories from moms, dads, kids about how drugs and alcohol has made them suffer significantly. I believe a foundation of Christianity is that we’re all equal from conception through to death; and as such need to treat each other with compassion and knowing each person is not only in the image of God but that God dwells within them as their soul.
So I commend this author for raising a difficult topic and doing so with empathy and intelligence. I wish I had an argument to improve the situation but as I am from Philly and see the nightmare that is Kensington, I will refrain and end with Thank-you and God Bless you. Thanks to P.B. also for introducing me to this author.
I'm grateful, and I agree regarding the dignity of every soul. God loves every single Philly street denizen as much as any other, and weeps for their suffering, as should we. I have watched videos of Kensington Avenue, a zombie dystopia spreading into every rural corner of our nation. I was a certified recovery coach and a Special Public Defender. If we don't help one another, the scourge grows. Thank you for your words, and welcome to this forum! (Thanks, P.B.!)
Seems like this progressive experiment to give "compassionate" clean needles (and other "kindness") to addicts has failed. What would actually be a compassionate response? How about take them off the street and house them long enough to get them clean and then help them with goals and hope for a drug-free life? Not able to get clean and stay clean? Stay housed then. I know it may be a pipe-dream but letting them kill themselves between the parks and alleys where we shop and go about our lives is cruel and inhumane.
While needle exchange seems theoretically like the right thing to do, in practice it doesn't end well. It sends a signal that not only is the behavior okay but it is encouraged. Non-profit industries pop up around these areas to serve these people. And those non-profits want to ensure their existence. Neighborhoods are left with the train wreck. When I see a drug addict on the ground, I often wonder if a traumatic childhood led to this path. Decades ago, writer/psychiatrist Dr. Scott Peck wrote that he wasn't surprised at how many broken people there were, the surprise was that there weren't more thus there seemingly was an impulse towards leading a decent life. Our current culture has removed that true north for so many. I don't know what the answer is, but needle exchanges without true drug intervention is not the answer.
As for the AIDS epidemic, I remember and activist warning me that my brother should not take the AZT protocol because it was poison being given. I couldn't get my head around this notion in the mid-90s, but I can now. I remember the deaths of handsome young men. They were terrible and painful. Was it the result of the disease or the protocol?
Thanks for this constructive contribution. I don't disagree. A watched a very dear gay friend waste away before AZT was available., and it was an absolutely horrible death. My sole real issue here is how best to respond to the add-on disease epidemics that lurk under the surface. Are you suggesting that the cure of clean needles to protect non-users is not worth it because of the increase in addiction? That is an argument to consider, and I am concerned that normalizing needles can be an imprimatur of approval, but I have not seen that in evidence.... Certainly not in numbers to justify allowing preventable diseases to spread. I see it as a sanitation issue. Perhaps they should post a cop instead of a nurse at the sites to interrogate users about where they get their xylazine and fentanyl.... :)
Peter Santenello produced a "documentary" in Burlington. @48:00 Decker Towers Senior facility has seen an increase of drug addicts making use of the facility because Narcan is available there. The entire documentary is worthwhile: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2lA_DsvuvY
AIDS/HIV: was this another gain of function operation? Consider AIDS INC: Scandal of the Century by Jon Rappoport and Serious Adverse: An Uncensored History of AIDS by Celia Farber. I think we need to address addiction. We certainly should not be providing synthetic drugs in prisons. There is a discussion in the documentary about holding drug users accountable in the court system, as well, which seems to be effective.
I don’t have an answer for this….. but I see similarities with this and “homelessness”. In Burlington, out of “compassion “ (I really hate that word) the mayor facilitated encampment’s on Pine Street. All summer it grew. Then the fire marshal said it was tinderbox waiting to go up. They had to tear it all down right when cold weather was coming on. Now what do those homeless people do? Not very compassionate in my opinion.
By the way, Hepatitis c is easily treated with modern medicine (according to the Mayo Clinic).
Thanks. I am emphatic that more police and prosecution is required, but clean needles are not subsidized housing: they are a very low-cost intervention that protects both users and the rest of us from additional diseases. Even if Hep c is treatable (I have friends who did so successfully), it often goes unnoticed and can do damage in the interim -- and it would be better if no one had it. Thanks Stephen!
I had to stop at the point you emphasized that there is no study or proof that these sites increase drug trafficking. Just read Michael Shellenberger. That alone should be enough.
I am unaware and happy to be corrected there. However, if you keep reading that still doesn't answer the questions regarding dieases spread. I am happy to be proved wrong -- I just think these other diseases and their connection to needles should be discussed, and neither side has.
I go to family of alcohols meeting on a regular basis and also haven’t had a drink in decades. I didn’t and don’t identify as an alcoholic but I wanted to show loved ones I was onboard with not using. I do hear the tragic stories from moms, dads, kids about how drugs and alcohol has made them suffer significantly. I believe a foundation of Christianity is that we’re all equal from conception through to death; and as such need to treat each other with compassion and knowing each person is not only in the image of God but that God dwells within them as their soul.
So I commend this author for raising a difficult topic and doing so with empathy and intelligence. I wish I had an argument to improve the situation but as I am from Philly and see the nightmare that is Kensington, I will refrain and end with Thank-you and God Bless you. Thanks to P.B. also for introducing me to this author.
I'm grateful, and I agree regarding the dignity of every soul. God loves every single Philly street denizen as much as any other, and weeps for their suffering, as should we. I have watched videos of Kensington Avenue, a zombie dystopia spreading into every rural corner of our nation. I was a certified recovery coach and a Special Public Defender. If we don't help one another, the scourge grows. Thank you for your words, and welcome to this forum! (Thanks, P.B.!)
Kensington is mentioned in the documentary I linked, above. I think Peter Santenello is also seeking compassionate solutions, as are many.
Seems like this progressive experiment to give "compassionate" clean needles (and other "kindness") to addicts has failed. What would actually be a compassionate response? How about take them off the street and house them long enough to get them clean and then help them with goals and hope for a drug-free life? Not able to get clean and stay clean? Stay housed then. I know it may be a pipe-dream but letting them kill themselves between the parks and alleys where we shop and go about our lives is cruel and inhumane.
Narcan will be used to harvest organs from the "brain dead"...