A couple of weeks ago, our class voted for the tweet of the
week winner to be who mentioned the opening of a heroin injection site in
Ithaca, NY. This originally intrigued me because I have noticed that widespread
increase in heroin use in my home state, Connecticut, as well as its use
elsewhere in Boston and New York. Growing up heroin use was something of a
myth; it was viewed as a life-altering drug that destroyed all future potential
and success. Further, I couldn’t name a single person I knew that had used it
or whose life had been affected in any way because of heroin. Now all of a sudden I am seeing people I
graduated high school with struggling with heroin addiction, people dying, and
reports from my Emergency room nurse mother alerting me of how big this drug
was becoming in my home town. And from what I had heard, it is everywhere.
Heroin does not discriminate between race, class structure, educational
attainment, or geographical location. Heroin is arguably one of the most
dangerous and widely used drugs of our time, and it is cheap and accessible.
I had heard of injection sites before because I knew that
they had already been introduced in Vancouver, British Colombia in Canada.
There was originally a public outcry when the clinics were first introduced due
to fears that these injection site clinics would increase usage by those who
may not try the drug otherwise due to increased accessibility and safety
measures. However this has not proven to be the case, with studies proving that
reduction measures typically do not encourage use, and simply makes the process
of usage more safe and regulated. An example that supports this claim is sex
education, with safer sex practices taught it was found that more young people
weren’t engaging simply because they were being introduced safe sex practices
in classes. Those who would have engaged otherwise however, now practiced safer
sex and teen pregnancies were reduced.
This injection clinic being introduced in Ithaca would need
state approval given that what they are proposing is currently illegal,
therefore the mayor of Ithaca is looking to change the laws. His name is Svante
Myrick, and he backs the law enforcement strategy that prioritizes treatment
over arrests. Addicts will legally be able to inject themselves under medical
supervision while providing their own heroin. Medical professionals can
intervene if someone overdoses, and after injection the user receives treatment
and counseling services that encourage the addict to overcome this ailment.
They offer clean needles to reduce the spread of deadly diseases like HIV that
is often associated with heroin use, and medicated treatment for withdrawal
symptoms. Overdoses with heroin can easily be reversed, therefore monitoring
its use and being prepared with the necessary treatment for if it occurs on
site could potentially save a life, and from there the patient could seek
alternate treatment. In Vancouver, studies show that over 800 users attend
every day, and there are about 10-20 overdoses per week. No one has died at the
injection clinic to date. Afterward, the clinic connects the addict to recovery
services, and encourages people to seek treatment and overcome the addiction.
The mayor in Ithaca is a personal victim to addiction,
stating that he grew up watching his father battle addiction. This makes this
issue personalized for him, and shows the significance of even helping one or
two families that are trying to seek help for this drug that has become such a
detrimental factor to society today. Myrick states, “Every time you avoid
death, you give that person a chance to recover from their addiction, and if we
can do that in a safe place, all the better.” I think that the goal that he is
trying to achieve in this town is admirable. I have seen personally the
terrible toll that heroin has on young lives, and if this option were available,
perhaps these people whose lives were stolen from heroin would have been
spared. I think that what the mayor in Ithaca is doing is a wonderful act of
public service and philanthropy. We often only look at philanthropic acts as
those that involve volunteering or donating, however I believe that an act that
serves the greater good and tries to fix an ailment suffered by many is as
impactful and critical.
Although I do see the potential benefits of supervised injection sites, I think we need to know more about these programs before backing programs like the ones in Vancouver and promoting the establishment of more programs like it. I definitely see how great it is especially considering that it no one has ever died from overdosing at these sites, but is it really an effective method of actually helping heroin addicts? People with addiction are still going to suffer on a daily basis because they are addicted and it's not like going to these sites makes them functioning members of society but with an addiction. Also, I think it's important for us to know how many people have gone to these programs and and then took advantage of the opportunities that are given to them and sought help for their addiction, and out those that did how many of them stayed clean. According to Vancouver Coastal Health, 488 patients were discharged from detox, but 9,259 unique individuals take advantage of the program. That is just over 5% of individuals, and there was no data to suggest that they stayed clean. Because of this I'm not sure that the programs are really all that great. They might be saving lives, but they are just putting of a death by heroin for a little while longer. I think for now, this might be a good idea but in the long run there need to be new ideas that will effectively reduce heroin use and get addicts the help they need to fight their addiction.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate that you brought this topic back up in your blog post as it is a conflict that I have really only learned more about this year through working with the Emerging Leaders Program. While I'm not sure my side exactly on implementing an injection facility in Ithaca, I do know that substance abuse really interconnects with many of the issues we considered in class including mental health, homelessness, and even education. I also have learned that addictive substance use, especially heroin, is far from being a choice and that that the rehab process can cause immense physical and emotional challenges too. We are learning more about how Social Workers can address substance use in my Social Work class this week, actually.
DeleteTo add to some ideas of ways in which we can help people find support and fight their addiction as Anthony mentioned, I wanted to introduce the group I worked with last semester.
Through ELP, my group and I collaborated with the growing organization I'm Dope without Dope. Currently, they are serving to campaign in the community for more resources regarding the heroin epidemic in Broome County. To further their mission, they hope to create a recreational safe space for people who are facing addictive habits with substances including alcohol and especially heroin, as the organization was created in honor of a friend who had died from heroin overdose. The point of the facility is to allow community members to come to the recreational center where they can meet others and partake in wellness activities like yoga, intramural sports or art activities. It would allow people to have a safe place to go where they do not feel pressured or shamed for their disease and in having a community they may feel empowered to seek further rehabilitation too. As a group, we were only able to begin the renovation process for the space, and I know they are in need of more resources to finally open the site. They are in the process of applying for their 501-c-3, but I wanted to share their GoFundme Page and website in case anyone was interested in learning more about the cause or donating some time to their projects in Binghamton locally.
https://www.gofundme.com/dopewithoutdope
I'm glad that you brought this topic to the blog. I voted for that particular tweet to win when it was nominated, but I had forgotten about it since. I think facilities like this are very important because they serve so many purposes. Not only do they provide a safe environment for addicts and opportunities to recover from their addiction, they also change society's perception of addicts. People tend to view addicts as criminals that need to be punished instead of patients who need help recovering. I believe these clinics can change the stigma towards addicts for the better. I really liked the quote from the mayor in your post. By helping addicts stay safe we allow them the opportunity to change their lives. Furthermore, the facilities show addicts that our society values their life. Often addicts can feel worthless and abandoned which keeps them in the constant loop of addiction. If we show an addict that we value their life, they will come to value their own life more. I personally don't have connections to any heroin addicts, but I have talked recently to two of my friends who know victims of heroin overdose. They are each from different areas of New York and lost high school classmates. These situations are nothing short of tragedies and should be prevented. I believe these clinics are a great approach to helping addicts stay safe and eventually recover.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed that you brought this subject up in your blog considering I have read about it in some of my other classes and found that it is extremely controversial among many. While some people feel as though constructing facilities such as the one you mentioned encourages people to use heroin, as you retorted, the statistics show that people who weren’t using previously are not beginning to use due to such facilities. In fact, many users may be unhappy with the lives they are leading and wish to be able to stop, but simply do not know how to go about doing this. This was demonstrated in an HBO documentary I watched recently called Heroin: Cape Cod, USA. Many of the users in the film wanted to stop and were aware of the fact that the drug was taking over their lives, yet they did not have that foot in the door to help get them started and ease the process.
ReplyDeleteI believe such facilities are a great way to help people overcome their addictions because they provide a safe environment without being intimidating. It is very interesting that this concept was brought up as a type of philanthropy because it is something I would not have thought about. I do agree that it would be considered philanthropy because they are seeking to solve a social issue that is affecting the lives of many people. If such programs prove to be successful, many lives will hopefully be saved.