blue above, green below when I'm far away

[primroseburrows]

I disagree with this editorial on about a million levels:

Lock up the addicts until they're clean.

So this guy, Ethan Baron, writes:

"Here's some logic: Take these addicts and lock them up until they're clean

Comments

[the_antichris]

WORD WORD WORDY MCWORDERSON.

The thing that works, as much as anything does? Decriminalisation and treatment. Kind of the opposite of throwing them in jail.

[primroseburrows]

Yep. And hey, that would leave the cops who chase around heroin addicts free to, um. Go after the heroin dealers.

[darkgods]

My mother was a heroin addict for years untile she committed suicide in December of 05. I agree with you completely: 12 step programs are voluntary and do NO ONE any good at all when attendence is mandatory. The first step (and I've reiterated this time and time again to addicts) is ADMITTING YOU HAVE A PROBLEM. Until THEY are ready to face down their demons, it's a waste of the court's time and money.

I like the program that you've listed here. My mother would have greatly benefitted from something like that. In fact, she was living in San Francisco at the time of her death. It's a shame that people refuse to understand what addicts endure. I don't have a lot of sympathy for junkies, but jail is no solution at all.

[primroseburrows]

There's not a SIS in San Francisco yet, but the process of trying to bring one there seems to be moving in the right direction. According to this blog post, the SF facility will be modelled after the Vancouver one because of Insite's success. I just hope it gets to happen. I honestly never expected the US to ever have one because of the way our drug laws are and the general American "not in my back yard" attitude. If it can work anywhere in the US, it can work in SF, though.

I'm sorry about your mom. The fact that suicides happen so often among addicts is says a lot about how the assumption that addicts want their lifestyle just ain't true (and also how depression/bipolar disorder and addiction go hand in glove--addiction is definitely a comorbid illness).