MA doctors want safe injection facilities (SIFs)
- Thread starter Chris0nllyn
- Start date
Hijinx
Well-Known Member
Almost 1/3rd. of the people using this SIF overdosed, but no one died----because they were right there to give them drugs that saved them.
Then sent them on their merry junkie way.
Why does anyone want to fight so hard to keep someone alive who's tried so hard to not be?
This_person
Well-Known Member
My first inclination to answer this was, "heck yeah, good question."
Then, I thought about it. Addiction is a disease. We can all agree that they were sober before they took their first hit of any kind of any illegal drug, so it was a sober and conscious choice to be stupid and dangerous and careless and....well, you get the drift. But, it's still a disease. I would never challenge a diabetic for having had too much sugar (before diagnosis), and if they eat too much after diagnosis I would try to help them.
As a general rule, people turn to drugs (or other addictive things - be it shopping or porn or alcohol or whatever) because of some trauma in their lives. We can say "suck it up, Buttercup" but I'd like to think we're above that.
That said, Moses freed the white Isreali slaves and did all God asked him, but sinned to the point God still kept him out of the promised land. Once they're healthy again, they need to face appropriate charges for the crime they committed, just like a non-addict.
That is an excellent question.
I find it curious that we, as a society, would even entertain the notion of facilitating and enabling dangerous drug use.
Addiction is not a disease. Cancer is a disease; addiction is a choice and a behavior.
How you can tell is that people every single day decide to not become addicts. With cancer, or any other true disease, you rarely have a choice.
People every day learn to manage their addictions, to the point that they no longer engage in the addictive behavior. You can't just will yourself out of having cancer. You don't just "hit rock bottom" one day and decide you will no longer have cancer.
To say that addiction is a disease is a cop out. It's just another way to avoid taking responsibility for your behavior.
This_person
Well-Known Member
Respectfully, I disagree. That's like saying depression is not a mental issue, and people should just "snap out of it". It just doesn't work that way physically or psychologically.
Depression has an internal bio-chemical cause.
Is Smoking a disease? Drinking Coffee? They both introduce a chemical reaction to the body that becomes a needed fix.
It's addictive, but a personally created problem, not a disease.
This_person
Well-Known Member
It is the chemical reaction that happens to some, but not others, that makes it a brain disease. It literally changes the structure and functioning of the brain.
There are reasons some people become addicts and others do not. It's in their genes.
luvmygdaughters
Well-Known Member
luvmygdaughters
Well-Known Member
Depression is certainly a mental issue - not a disease. Addiction is a mental issue - not a disease. In both cases of depression and addiction, indeed people do "snap out of it" on their own - I have personally seen this happen. Many times they require treatment, and many times that treatment isn't effective, and many times they spiral out of control until they die one way or another. But in fact people can and do will themselves out of it.
There are no choices with cancer or arthritis or any other true disease. There are ways to reduce your risk, but no surefire way to avoid them completely. With addiction, your risk is completely and totally in your own hands (unless you are involuntarily introduced to the addictive drug, which is statistically insignificant with regard to addiction numbers).
This has been discussed on here a number of times, so that will be my final word on this subject because hashing and rehashing is boring.
luvmygdaughters
Well-Known Member
I have made my thoughts on this subject very clear in other posts. I do not agree that my tax dollars should be used to support a place where known criminals can participate in illegal activity. Stiffer sentences for distributors and users would be my solution. As far as addiction being a disease, I don't agree. Make a visit to Childrens Hospital or St. Judes Hospital, those are victims of disease!!! If you choose to shoot heroin in your veins, sniff coke up your nose, smoke crack, etc., its your choice, you had a decision to make and that's what you did. That is not my problem!!!!
Uh... No. I've known people that indulged.
Stop the destructive behavior. All better. It was all in their hands.
Can't do that with Cancer, heart disease, ALS, arthritis, Psoriasis, Osteoporosis...
This_person
Well-Known Member
As I said, some are addicted, some are not.
Unfortunately, many doctors and many studies disagree with you and LMD and Vrai. There are also those who simply see it as a destructive brain thing - the chemical reactions and functional structure of the brain change are reactions, and therefore not a disease (but still a PHYSICAL issue, not "willpower"). That makes it more like heart disease than not.
kwillia
n/a
My sister is a director of billing at a major drug and alcohol rehab in Maryland. That clinic is very much all about the patient and getting the patient to come in, getting the patient to continue treatments and not drop out, getting the patient to come back and try again if they get clean but fail to stay clean. It is all about the patient.
Her biggest stress at her job? You'd think it would be dealing with insurance companies or strung out junkies wanting to argue over their bills... nope. It's the constant pressure to bring in more money each month compared to the prior month... more each year compared to the prior year.
I am very positive these safe drug dens are all about the patient though...
Her biggest stress at her job? You'd think it would be dealing with insurance companies or strung out junkies wanting to argue over their bills... nope. It's the constant pressure to bring in more money each month compared to the prior month... more each year compared to the prior year.
I am very positive these safe drug dens are all about the patient though...
black dog
Free America
My sister is a director of billing at a major drug and alcohol rehab in Maryland. That clinic is very much all about the patient and getting the patient to come in, getting the patient to continue treatments and not drop out, getting the patient to come back and try again if they get clean but fail to stay clean. It is all about the patient.
Her biggest stress at her job? You'd think it would be dealing with insurance companies or strung out junkies wanting to argue over their bills... nope. It's the constant pressure to bring in more money each month compared to the prior month... more each year compared to the prior year.
I am very positive these safe drug dens are all about the patient though...
Yep,,, Always Follow the Money..
Hijinx
Well-Known Member
My problem is this. Nothing can make drugs safe when they are bought from a dealer on the street.
Even the dealer does not know what he is selling half the time.
They don't know how often it has been cut or what has been added to it.
It's a crap shoot.
Now what these places do is let their (What shall we call them? Patients, addicts? Suckers?) take this unknown concoction and then stand around and see what happens to them. Doesn't make sense to me. What makes more sense to me is to just sell them clean dope and let them shoot up and try to wean them off it.Obviously we are supplying them Narcan why not a safe hit on their favorite fantasy drug and try to clean them up.
Just watching them use unsafe drugs and leave the place high is BS.
The problem.: It's easy to see. Try to clean them up and they won't come back.
Try to get them to inform--they won't come back.
So these place do nothing.They may congratulate themselves on a save, but it's just a delaying action, and the dope dealers are still in business.
So watching them shoot up bad dope and seeing that they don't die from it is no solution.
You are just watching them kill themselves in stages,because sure as sh1t stinks, one day they will be suffering withdrawals and shoot up on their own.
This does not prevent death it just delays it.
Even the dealer does not know what he is selling half the time.
They don't know how often it has been cut or what has been added to it.
It's a crap shoot.
Now what these places do is let their (What shall we call them? Patients, addicts? Suckers?) take this unknown concoction and then stand around and see what happens to them. Doesn't make sense to me. What makes more sense to me is to just sell them clean dope and let them shoot up and try to wean them off it.Obviously we are supplying them Narcan why not a safe hit on their favorite fantasy drug and try to clean them up.
Just watching them use unsafe drugs and leave the place high is BS.
The problem.: It's easy to see. Try to clean them up and they won't come back.
Try to get them to inform--they won't come back.
So these place do nothing.They may congratulate themselves on a save, but it's just a delaying action, and the dope dealers are still in business.
So watching them shoot up bad dope and seeing that they don't die from it is no solution.
You are just watching them kill themselves in stages,because sure as sh1t stinks, one day they will be suffering withdrawals and shoot up on their own.
This does not prevent death it just delays it.
Chris0nllyn
Well-Known Member
My sister is a director of billing at a major drug and alcohol rehab in Maryland. That clinic is very much all about the patient and getting the patient to come in, getting the patient to continue treatments and not drop out, getting the patient to come back and try again if they get clean but fail to stay clean. It is all about the patient.
Her biggest stress at her job? You'd think it would be dealing with insurance companies or strung out junkies wanting to argue over their bills... nope. It's the constant pressure to bring in more money each month compared to the prior month... more each year compared to the prior year.
I am very positive these safe drug dens are all about the patient though...
Is it a private rehab facility? If so, making money would also make sense.