This past Wednesday one of our local TV stations, WCVB, did a day of programming based on the opioid crisis in this state. There were some alarming statistics in some of the pieces, but the one that stood out most to me was that there are less than a thousand beds available for addicts statewide.
How are we to combat this problem if there's no treatment? Those fortunate enough to get a bed are lucky to get a week of inpatient treatment and follow-up care. That's not enough. You can't just detox someone and put them back out there with all that temptation.
And I'm not saying to decriminalize opioids, but we've got to stop jailing people for small-time possession of narcotics. Putting someone in jail for using is a waste of taxpayer money and do they realize how many people use inside? Not to mention, you're putting them in with dealers and people who have connections so when they get out, they have MORE people to turn to in order to get high.
This state is a joke on this and so many other fronts that help feed it. There's so little to help the mentally ill, the homeless and it seems as though they keep stacking the deck against all of this higher and higher every year. This problem has reached critical mass and nobody wants to do anything about it...
Also, the companies who make the lifesaving drug Narcan, which reverses an overdose and has saved MY life, have increased the cost of the drug to $40 a dose, an increase of over 100% that has dwindled the supply...
States like Washington and Oregon have the model in place. They are leading the way in state-funded rehab and treatment. What the fuck has to happen HERE before we do the same?
The "War On Drugs" is and always has been a fucking lie...
Rei~
How are we to combat this problem if there's no treatment? Those fortunate enough to get a bed are lucky to get a week of inpatient treatment and follow-up care. That's not enough. You can't just detox someone and put them back out there with all that temptation.
And I'm not saying to decriminalize opioids, but we've got to stop jailing people for small-time possession of narcotics. Putting someone in jail for using is a waste of taxpayer money and do they realize how many people use inside? Not to mention, you're putting them in with dealers and people who have connections so when they get out, they have MORE people to turn to in order to get high.
This state is a joke on this and so many other fronts that help feed it. There's so little to help the mentally ill, the homeless and it seems as though they keep stacking the deck against all of this higher and higher every year. This problem has reached critical mass and nobody wants to do anything about it...
Also, the companies who make the lifesaving drug Narcan, which reverses an overdose and has saved MY life, have increased the cost of the drug to $40 a dose, an increase of over 100% that has dwindled the supply...
States like Washington and Oregon have the model in place. They are leading the way in state-funded rehab and treatment. What the fuck has to happen HERE before we do the same?
The "War On Drugs" is and always has been a fucking lie...
Rei~
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