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Walsh now willing to consider safe-injection sites - but not if the South End is the only location
By adamg on Fri, 09/14/2018 - 9:16am
The Boston Sun reports the mayor, who once completely opposed the idea of allowing a place where people with opioid addictions could shoot up under medical supervision, told the South End Forum he has been impressed by the experience in Edmonton, where they're spread among hospitals in the city, reducing the odds of creating a single point where people would be preyed on outside. In addition to medical supervision, people are given the opportunity to sign up for programs to help them beat their addiction.
The question might be moot for now, however, because the local US Attorney has vowed to go after any medical professionals who participate in such a program.
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Comments
AG status?
I'm curious...how do local US Attorneys have their position? Is this a position appointed by the federal government (aka, the President and/or the DOJ)? Or is this an elected position similar to the state Attorney General?
Appointed
By the president.
a sign of maturity...
Someone willing to admit they might be wrong, be open to new ideas and people. Even I choose the wrong lip gloss or cocktail from time to time. Daddy knows he made two prior mistakes but got it right on the third !
#metoo
Gag. Enough.
Like this post if you think Linda should be discontinued.
Seriously
Not sure if it's some demented attempt at satire or someone who is woefully non-conversant in commenting on teh interwebz but her posts are really getting to me.
Edmonton because we can never listen to doctors at MGH
Ali Raja, MD, Sarah Wakeman, MD, and Tom Lynch, MD (l-r) discuss how the MGH opioid policy has affected care in the emergency department.
If you can't beat 'em, join
If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. This pretty much says the government is giving up. Now we need to buy more Narcan. At least it'll cut down on the overburdened workload of ambulance service. Unless, of course, nobody in these self-injection sites is going to have any formal emergency medical training. Why don't the street workers take a toll of how many definitely and sincerely want to get clean for the long term? Then take those individuals and work with them. Then, at least, you'll know who is worth helping without throwing time and money out the window.
Not giving up
Getting off their moralistic high horse and now paying attention to facts.
Get the facts
Supervised consumption spaces have existed in other countries for 20+ years and there’s never been a death in one. Further they serve as an effective place for active users to engage with nurses and outreach workers who can assist them with treatment. They work well in other countries. There is tons of well done research on these facilities. Read it for yourself. A quick google search will yield plenty of evidence that these sights are a very effective public health tool to help fight overdose deaths.
Ecstatic
That I opted against buying a place in that area. Dodged a bullet on that one.
I know, right?
I could have bought two townhouses in the South End in the late 70s for 35 grand. Dodged a bullet there. Can you imagine what kind of property tax I would be paying on them now that they are worth several million each?
Ah, yes I can't wait for
Ah, yes I can't wait for methadone miles all through out Boston !
Ridiculous! When the “junkies
Ridiculous! When the “junkies” were a different color you threw them in jail with mandatory minimum sentences. Now let’s give them a place to shoot up? Go ahead Mr Walsh. Let’s see how your next election goes amongst people of color
You can’t be serious.
What is this “Hamsterdam” from The Wire. That’s basically saying the city is legalizing drugs. It’s a damn shame to hear they’re basically considering that. Smdh
Thoughtful approach by Walsh
SIFs are proven to keep people alive and limit the spread of other diseases, giving people a better shot at recovery. Until we make more progress on root causes, this is the ethical course of action.
Safe injection site's
This is the sickest thing I ever heard of. So will the doctors at the "safe "HEROIN" injection sites provide heroin ? And if not, is HEROIN the new business to venture into so all Americans can have a piece of the pie ?
No
The doctors don't supply drugs.
The theory is similar to that behind distributing clean needles: These people are going to shoot up anyway, no matter what anybody else does, so at least make it a little safer to reduce their odds of drying (in the case of a safe-injection site) or dying and spreading potentially fatal diseases. In the case of supervised injection sites, people who come in for them are also given the chance to sign up for treatment programs, so with any luck at least some of them will be getting more help than just having doctors and nurses available should they start to die.
You heard of it
Did you actually do any research on the efficacy of existing facilities in getting addicts into treatment? How about their capacity to reduce street crime? What about their effectiveness in suppressing the spread of HepC and HIV?
Doesn't sound like you did. You just reacted and considered your emotional outburst to be the same as reality.
Safe injection site strategy seems counter-intuitive
If enabling people to persue their addiiction is such sound logic, why haven’t we established locations for alcoholics to come in for a drink or facilities for gamblers to wager bets?
In addition to providing emergency treatment for those in dire medical straits, it seems to me that formulating a national strategy to addressing & impeding the various aspects of the root cause of addiction is a better approach in terms of the allocation of effort, time and resources.
Addiction to drugs, as an example, is a national problem. There are multiple reasons for this that require a unified approach - not a state by state set of tactics. You need to address why people resort to taking heroin, the source of drugs, and intervention methods. Consider the State of West Virginia - why is addiction to prescription opiates higher per capital there than any other state? Doctors & drug companies at at root of this - what are our elected officials collectively doing about it ?
First step - ban pharmaceutical companies from being able to make massive political contributions and fund huge lobbying efforts to prevent controlling legislations. Pass laws that hold drug company CEOs liable for their abusive distribution schemes. This is only one issue and one approach that could be enacted in a single day. There is a myriad of similar actions that could be taken - all prevented by politicians who benefit from drug companies.
You mean
You mean "bars and casinos?"
Also, a quick reminder that Jeff "marijuana causes violent crime" Sessions is currently in charge of setting federal policy on addiction intervention. I'm, uh, going to go out on a limb and say that we're stuck with state and municipal-level action for a while.
This is such a positive
This is such a positive development. I didn't think he would ever change his mind and look at the facts about safe sites like these. Anyone against treatment like this is on the wrong side of history.