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January 5, 2010

HEROIN FOR DUMMIES

Here's a troubling post from Ex-Hollywood Liberal. If you get a chance, stop by his blog and say hello.

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Here's the latest smack on taxpayers. The city spent $32,000 on 70,000 fliers that tell you how to shoot heroin, complete with detailed tips on prepping the dope and injecting it into your arm.

The NY Post’s Brad Hamilton reports:

The Health Department handout has outraged New York's top drug prosecutors and abuse experts.

"It's basically step-by-step instruction on how to inject a poison," said John Gilbride, who heads the Drug Enforcement Administration's New York office.

“It's sick," said City Council member Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Queens)


"Foolish," said Columbia University drug researcher and trea
tment expert Dr. Herbert Kleber.


The 16-page pamphlet features seven comics-like illustrations and offers dope fiends such useful advice as "Warm your body (jump up and down) to show your veins," and "Find the vein before you try to inject."

It even encourages addicts to keep jabbing if their needles miss the mark.

"If you don't 'register,' pull out and try again," it says.

The brochure sends the wrong message about the dangers of the drug, experts
said.

"It concerns me that the city would produce a how-to on using drugs," Gilbride said. "Heroin is extremely potent. You may only get the chance to use it once. To suggest there is a method of using that alleviates the dangers, that's very disturbing."

Vallone, who chairs the council's public safety committee, vowed to shut down the distribution of the pamphlet.

"This is a tremendous misuse of city funds, and I'm going to see what I can do to stop it. It sends a message to our youth: give it a try," he fumed.

Gilbride and city drug czar Bridget Brennan noted that the manual does have some sound advice. It stresses the importance of kicking the habit, seeking professional help and not sharing needles. But it also spells out how junkies should ready their fix and the best ways to shoot it -- a bad idea when m
ore New York teens than ever are trying heroin, they said.

"What we do not want to do is suggest that there's anything safe about shooting up narcotics," said Brennan, the city's special narcotics prosecutor. "No matter how many times you wash your hands or how clean the needle is, it's still poison that you're putting in your veins."

The guidebook, called "Take Charge, Take Care," has sections on overdosing, testing for HIV and hepatitis -- and how to "prepare drugs carefully" and "how to take care of your veins."

Kleber, a psychiatry professor, said the brochure could help save lives but that it was "foolish" for the city to include tips on how to shoot up.

The Health Department defended its brochure, saying it was helpful and necessary, and has been distributed only to addicts or those at risk of becoming abusers.

“Our goal is to promote health and save lives with this information," said Daliah Heller, assistant commissioner for the Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Use Prevention, Care and Treatment.

Asked why the handout tells people how to shoot up, Heller said, "From a health perspective, there is a less harmful way to inject yourself."

The flier fails to identify the city agency as its creator and distributor, and mentions only a group called LifeNet and the city's 311 help line as call-in resources to addicts.

LifeNet is run by the nonprofit Mental Health Association of New York City, which is heavily funded by the city. "It's certainly not ours," said association spokeswoman Beth Garcia.

Having arrested 2500+ heroin addicts, I've found that most street heroin (is there any other kind?) is about two-twelve percent pure and 88-98 percent filler that often includes feces, asphalt, salt, detergent, quinine and anything else you can imagine. Teaching addicts how to use clean syringes to inject street heroin is like teaching children how to use clean cups to drink sewage. That the Health Department of the most populated city in the US does this should also explain why our health department officials cannot be trusted to create policies regarding HIV or flu shots.

25 comments:

sig94 said...

Why stop there?
Rape for Dummies
Arson for Dummies
Child Molestation for Dummies
Underwear Bombs for Dummies

Snarky Basterd said...

Well, you know, Nickie. The gubmint did learn from alien movies of the 50s: They have to keep the citizenry sedated in order to complete the takeover.

Anonymous said...

Snarky, that's what Dancing With the Stars is for.

Anonymous said...

Sig...

You can never be too thin or have too much education.

anon said...

I can't even read that. Up here, we've been providing safe injection sites for junkies, tweekers, and all their merry band of friends for years.

Much as I'm a very compassionate person, yeah I said that out loud, and even volunteer with a large non-prof(haha) addiction treatment center, you gotta draw the line somewhere.

It doesn't work when the government gets involved in the people gettin' high, people gettin' low....

TS/WS said...

Heard the other day, the ban for foreigners with AIDS, will be no longer be scrutinized, and People with AIDS will be let in to this country. Now mixing it up with the street junkies-needle sharing and such. Wow. Pandemic.

Kid said...

I'm all for legalization of ALL drugs.

Seriously.

Do I care more about the addict with their overdose, or the widow of one of America's greatest generation having her stuff stolen as she walks back from the store to her apartment in the snow.

Take a guess.

Portugal decriminalized all drugs 7 or 8 years ago. They have far fewer addicts because people get help when they're not worried about being arrested and sent to the unwilling homosexual concentration camp - prison.

Imagine all the crime and death that would simply Disappear Day ONE with the legalization of all drugs and the dispensing of such at quite reasonable prices like alcohol. (Portugal does not supply, but I would add this element to put the cartels out of business)
The downside is that a person - Guaranteed capable of smacking your Mom on the head to get her 15 bucks so they can get drugs might die of an overdose.

Close your eyes for just a second and Imagine how much I DON'T CARE about the addict.

Idiots like Hannity keep on keeping on with this 'Oh Gosh, We gotta save these people from themselves' Expletive them.

But there is No chance of this ever happening. My GOD, Ohio just finally voted to allow the EVIL LIFE DESTROYING CASINO's into their little bible belt state.

Nothing against religion. Just against common sense and weighing the alternatives using RATIONAL THOUGHT.
;-)

Kid said...

PS - 20, 30, 40 years from now, when I CAN'T GET Health Care, I want some seriously Good Drugs available to fill the gap in my quality of life experience. I'd like LSD in the morning and Qualude 714's (Methaqualone in the evening. Or vice-versa.

fwiw.

Velcro said...

Next thing you know they'll be having conferences for kids on fisting...

Anonymous said...

Powdie... I agree. The part that bothers me most is the government involvement. It's always the Midas Touch in reverse.

Anonymous said...

TSWS...

So then explain to me again why I have to take off my shoes in every airport but Tel Aviv, and they never get planes blown up.

AIDS? ok. Swine Flu? OMG no!!

Anonymous said...

Kid, I repeat... It's the government's involvement that irks me and scares me. Government won't deregulate because their power is in regulation and all the peripheral industries.

Anonymous said...

Velcro... don't exaggerate. That could never happen.

TS/WS said...

The EU is rejecting the full body scan at their airports. If a child is scanned, they do not want to have pictures of Child Porn!

Sunday School said...

Then how are we ever going to stop all the children who are blowing up planes?

Unknown said...

I must admit I am shocked. I thought for sure Detroit would be first to do something like this.

Lexcen said...

In Australia, addicts get free needles while diabetics have to pay for theirs.

T. F. Stern said...

Sig94 has the right idea, "Why stop there?
Rape for Dummies
Arson for Dummies
Child Molestation for Dummies
Underwear Bombs for Dummies"...

Add to that, Tax Cheating for Dummies; come on folks, help us out here...

sig94 said...

Is it the use of drugs that bothers people or the thuggish, homicidal distribution network? There are costs to society on both sides of the legalization argument. If we legalize this crap, then be prepared to endure a costly, never ending cycle of treatment, relapse, treatment, relapse. If you want to legalize the use of narcotics and marijuana, then I do not want to pay for the treatment that never ends. Let them O.D. and die in the streets. Let them pass out and freeze to death during the winter. I can understand that some do not want to legislate against self destructive behavior, but I also do not want to support some idiot's craving for nose candy through my tax dollars.

In P.J. O'Rourke's book, "Parliment Of Whores" he quotes a doctor at NYC's Bellevue Hospital who says that the drug problem will end when all the addicts are dead. Then let that day come as quickly as possible.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, Tres. Or San Francisco.

Anonymous said...

Lexcen, I guess it's not just Down Under where things are upside-down.

Anonymous said...

Democrats for Dummies.

Well, that may be redundant.

Anonymous said...

Sig... That's right to the point. There will be a societal price for any government plan.

cbullitt said...

Let me guess--It was paid for with Porkulus grant money.

Susannah said...

THESE are the likes of the people who want to control YOUR HEALTHCARE! These, and people who insist our airport security measures 'worked just fine.'

Heaven help us!