Editorial: An upside on heroin
Bryan Rolfsen
Issue date: 5/19/09 Section: Opinions
Heroin safe houses are controversial at best, but some evidence suggests that there are benefits. A safe house is a place where heroin addicts can be medically prescribed and administered heroin. They provide safe needles, and only allow users to get their fix on-premise.
Zurich adopted liberal drug laws over a decade ago and has seen an 82 percent decline in new drug users since.
Vancouver has also run a pilot program in the downtown eastside called Insite. This three-year program provided heroin in a safe place with safe needles to addicts who had very little choice left in the matter of use.
Heroin is a drug that traps its user. There are endless cases of people turning to crime (i.e. prostitution, drug sales) to fuel their habits, losing everything from their former lives.Heroin also promotes the spread of HIV by sharing needles and kills many from overdoses.
There are safe-needle programs, but these are not enough. They do not provide any care for those suffering from heroin addiction. People need a step between street use and rehabilitation. Going from regular use of heroin to a rehabilitation program supplemented with methadone, a synthetic form of heroin with a more gentle high, is a recipe for repeated failures and possibly disaster.
One of the proposed reasons for promoting recovery, according to Professor John Strang, director of the National Addiction Centre at the Maudsley Hospital in South London, is that turning heroin from a rebellious street drug into a strictly regimented, prescribed drug takes the glamour out of the process. By prescribing heroin to an addict, the people who view the addiction as an illness can have a place to start the rehabilitation process.
If safe houses are combined with drug rehabilitation programs, it is possible that the people who have endlessly dropped out of rehabilitation to get street heroin will frequent the safe houses instead of their dealers.
Safe houses also lower the amount of deaths due to overdose for two reasons. First, they promote shooting up in the presence of others. Engaging in solitary use heightens the chances of an overdose. Second, there are medical professionals on premise who are capable of intervening in the case of an overdose to save lives.
It is easy to dismiss drug addicts, claiming "they did it to themselves" or "if they wanted to quit, they would", but it's not that easy. Eventually, heroin addicts use to avoid crippling sickness, not to get high. And if they are persecuted for a felony because of possession, they will surely not be able to seek any meaningful employment.
The United States' drug policy is prude and misinformed - the Bush regime accused Canada of abandoning their anti-drug policy because of Insite. Maybe under the leadership of more progressive and socially aware individuals, America will have the presence of mind to try new treatments for drug addicts. It's time to stop sending addicts to prison. Let's concentrate on distributors and help those in need instead of contributing to their destruction.
Bryan Rolfsen is a senior biology major. She can be reached at 581-7942 or at DENopinions@gmail.com.
Zurich adopted liberal drug laws over a decade ago and has seen an 82 percent decline in new drug users since.
Vancouver has also run a pilot program in the downtown eastside called Insite. This three-year program provided heroin in a safe place with safe needles to addicts who had very little choice left in the matter of use.
Heroin is a drug that traps its user. There are endless cases of people turning to crime (i.e. prostitution, drug sales) to fuel their habits, losing everything from their former lives.Heroin also promotes the spread of HIV by sharing needles and kills many from overdoses.
There are safe-needle programs, but these are not enough. They do not provide any care for those suffering from heroin addiction. People need a step between street use and rehabilitation. Going from regular use of heroin to a rehabilitation program supplemented with methadone, a synthetic form of heroin with a more gentle high, is a recipe for repeated failures and possibly disaster.
One of the proposed reasons for promoting recovery, according to Professor John Strang, director of the National Addiction Centre at the Maudsley Hospital in South London, is that turning heroin from a rebellious street drug into a strictly regimented, prescribed drug takes the glamour out of the process. By prescribing heroin to an addict, the people who view the addiction as an illness can have a place to start the rehabilitation process.
If safe houses are combined with drug rehabilitation programs, it is possible that the people who have endlessly dropped out of rehabilitation to get street heroin will frequent the safe houses instead of their dealers.
Safe houses also lower the amount of deaths due to overdose for two reasons. First, they promote shooting up in the presence of others. Engaging in solitary use heightens the chances of an overdose. Second, there are medical professionals on premise who are capable of intervening in the case of an overdose to save lives.
It is easy to dismiss drug addicts, claiming "they did it to themselves" or "if they wanted to quit, they would", but it's not that easy. Eventually, heroin addicts use to avoid crippling sickness, not to get high. And if they are persecuted for a felony because of possession, they will surely not be able to seek any meaningful employment.
The United States' drug policy is prude and misinformed - the Bush regime accused Canada of abandoning their anti-drug policy because of Insite. Maybe under the leadership of more progressive and socially aware individuals, America will have the presence of mind to try new treatments for drug addicts. It's time to stop sending addicts to prison. Let's concentrate on distributors and help those in need instead of contributing to their destruction.
Bryan Rolfsen is a senior biology major. She can be reached at 581-7942 or at DENopinions@gmail.com.
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Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 5
SEAN
posted 5/18/09 @ 9:37 PM CST
Supporting Terminal Addiction Is Not A Good Cause
Insite
The Money That Is Spent To Keep These Doors Open Is Justified I'll Agree On The Point Of Saving Lives, But In The End How Many Times Would They Allow An Overdose In Their Facility To Happen For A Repeat Offender? The Fire And Ambulance Service Is Stressed To The Max! In General This Building Keeps Them Very Busy. (Continued…)
AUTHOR LYING
posted 5/19/09 @ 12:23 AM CST
"methadone, a synthetic form of heroin with a more gentle high, is a recipe for repeated failures and possibly disaster." -FALSE
That is simply false. (Continued…)
Mark Montgomery
posted 5/19/09 @ 6:11 AM CST
Heroin should be legal. Mexico just legalized possession of small amounts of all drugs. Switzerland just legalized heroin. Portugal decriminalized all drugs in 2001 and their experience has been positive. (Continued…)
Bryan Rolfsen
posted 5/23/09 @ 3:08 PM CST
In response to "Author LYING":
Prescribed methadone users absolutely CAN get high if they take more than their prescribed dosage. Hence, until an acceptable amount of accountability is reached, daily visits to the clinic are required. (Continued…)
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