Vancouver Tries Free Heroin Program

Brooker

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Man, this is a pretty drastic step/desperate move. I'm sure the drug problem is bad, but the thought of a government giving away free heroin is just scary. This has been tried in Europe. Anyone know how that worked out there? Any thoughts on this?

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Just over the United States northwest border, addicts will soon be able to get their fix from the Canadian government in the form of free heroin (search) administered by nurses and doctors on the taxpayer's dime.

"They're using heroin. They'll continue to use heroin. What we're trying to do is prevent them from getting something irreversible like HIV, hep [hepatitis] C and overdose death,?h said Dr. Martin Schechter, the director of the heroin program.

Vancouver Police Chief Jamie Graham (search) is among supporters who say the heroin giveaway will let junkies shoot up without having to resort to theft or prostitution to buy their drugs. Breaking that cycle of crime, they argue, is the first step toward turning an addict's life around.

Recovered addict Chuck Swesey - who's been clean 20 years - says the program smacks of government drug pushing. He says he knows how he would've ended under a program like this: "I'd be dead ... or I'd be in a jail or an institution."

The $8 million Canadian program is patterned after similar efforts in Europe.

full story
 
Yes .... for most of us up here .... the jury is still out !

Regards,

?W????
 
I don't think, it's scary. Can be rather helpful, actually. AFAIK, there was some research in the UK recently, which showed that even Heroin addicts can be useful members of society.
Where I see the greatest advantage, though, is crime. If drug addicts don't have to pay these exorbitant prices for illegal stuff anymore, rates of drug-related crime will probably decrease dramatically.
 
What Bossel says is quite true - and one of the main reasons for the program.

BC has, for instance, one of the highest records of auto theft in the world. Nearly all of it drug related.

Nearly all petty crime up here is related to drugs and the means for paying for them.

The ultimate aim is to put the dealers out of business.

Make a wish !

Just a thought.

?W????
 
I don't know if I'd like the idea that my tax dollars were being spent on poison given to people who use it to destroy their lives. On the other hand, I wouldn't like those people robbing me either. It's a tough call, but there's gotta be another way. It's like those people have been completely written off, and maybe they have. "Here, go ahead and I'll help you kill yourself, just don't break into my home."

The article was saying that some people thought the free smack would help users get their lives back on track, but I find that a little hard to believe. It's like giving cigarettes to children so that they don't steal them. The logic behind all this is a little shakey.

What happens if someone dies while using "government smack"? Will the family be able to sue the government for giving them something that killed them?
 
Brooker said:
I don't know if I'd like the idea that my tax dollars were being spent on poison given to people who use it to destroy their lives.
Don't forget that heroin addiction is an illness. They are not simply doing this for the fun of it.
A certain percentage of people will be able to get back on track, others won't. That probably also depends on the individual psyche & circumstances.
 
I have read that there were even clinics with nurses who'd supervise and counsel to help the addicts healing and quiting eventually.

Brooker said:
I don't know if I'd like the idea that my tax dollars were being spent on poison given to people who use it to destroy their lives.
I wouldn't like it either. It would be depressing.
 

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