109698869574196192
Something is happening here
But you don’t know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?
“Ballad of a Thin Man”
B. Dylan
BACKGROUND: In Springfield, Massachusetts they arrested a lady for running a needle exchange program. Springfield, like a lot of struggling old mill cities in New England, has found itself having to deal with “The Drug Problem”. There is currently a movement to start a state funded needle exchange program.
ISSUE: A lady wrote in to the Springfield newspaper and insisted that addicts should be locked up, the needle exchange program defeated as a taxpayer waste, and that Sprinfield is getting all the addicts “dumped on them”.
MY RESPONSE/LETTER TO THE EDITOR:
To the Springfield Republican and all its readers,
I was horrified to read the opinion of Amy Bissonnette concerning the proposed needle exchange program. She referred to it as an excuse for towns to “Dump their drug addicts” on Springfield. She also said these addict lawbreakers “should be locked up” and not given “a free ride”. I find her thinking seriously flawed and tragically emblematic of the kind of attitudes that hurt society more than they help.
First of all, to assume that drug addicts are somebody else’s problem from some other place is to not live in reality. Every family in every town in America can name a friend or loved one who has been hurt by the misunderstood disease of addiction. Unfortunately, every town in this state is going to have to deal with this problem in terms of treatment and prevention. Addiction is a disease and to label it a problem being “dumped on you” is like the local hospital wanting to rid themselves of those “annoying lung cancer patients.”
Secondly, a free needle program does not encourage drug abuse. Rather, it shows societies willingness to understand a problem and deal with it in a way that puts the health and safety of the human being first. There is simply no evidence showing that allowing a needle exchange program will increase drug use. There is however a ton of evidence that shows Hepatitis, AIDS, and other diseases increase when people use dirty needles.
Finally, I would like to address her idea that all addicts should be locked up. In her world and many others this would seem like an easy solution. In a world where people do not perceive the addict on the street as their fellow human being but a second-class citizen it would seem a quick fix. But it would do nothing to help the addict or the taxpayer. To provide state funded healthcare to someone with HIV or Hepatitis is a lot more expensive than helping someone have access to a clean needle. Our city councilors and state representatives should realize that it costs thousands of dollars more to incarcerate an addict than to give them a rehabilitation program. Unfortunately, our state has just reduced the number of state funded detox beds from 1000 to 450 so rehab will not be an option for most addicts. As winter approaches either the streets or the jails are going to be full. This is a serious complex problem that must be dealt with by people who are open-minded. People with hope that as a society we can do better. A needle exchange program will be the first step in a journey to see our addicted brothers and sisters live another day and get the help they deserve.
John Morello
Monson, MA
