I know that what I am about to write has nothing to do with meandering my way around the world but I just cannot pass this story up. I read an article about how some drug addicts are using heroine laced with the pain killer called fentanyl.
Fentanyl - an opiate used legally in anesthesia and for some cancer patients - is cheaper than heroin and 80 times more potent than morphine. That makes it an appealing additive for heroin distributors.
So what’s happening is that some druggies are dying because they are unprepared for the overwhelming affects associated with fentanyl and they overdose and die. There is a debate going on around the United States within municipal and State health agencies whether to make Narcan available to drug users in case they do overdose.
After more than 400 deaths nationwide from heroin laced with the painkiller fentanyl, some needle exchange programs are giving addicts prescriptions for a drug to keep on hand to halt an overdose. The antidote - naloxone, which is sold under the brand name Narcan - can save the life of someone who might not call 911 for fear of prosecution, treatment providers say.
As I see it, there is a way to stop people from dying by distributing Narcan to drug users. But that is met with the following statement from the White House –
"We don't want to send the message out that there is a safe way to use heroin," said Jennifer DeVallance, a spokeswoman for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, which sponsored a symposium Friday on the fentanyl problem in Philadelphia.
So what is the alternative? I guess it is ok for drug users to die of an overdose instead of giving them a chance to live. We wouldn’t want to err on the side of life for people who use drugs.
However, our President would prefer to destroy an embryo instead of providing researchers with an opportunity to find a cure for some of the most deadly diseases which kill millions of people each year. It is also apparent that he has no love for drug addicts and would prefer that they simply fall asleep and never wake up again.
Fentanyl - an opiate used legally in anesthesia and for some cancer patients - is cheaper than heroin and 80 times more potent than morphine. That makes it an appealing additive for heroin distributors.
So what’s happening is that some druggies are dying because they are unprepared for the overwhelming affects associated with fentanyl and they overdose and die. There is a debate going on around the United States within municipal and State health agencies whether to make Narcan available to drug users in case they do overdose.
After more than 400 deaths nationwide from heroin laced with the painkiller fentanyl, some needle exchange programs are giving addicts prescriptions for a drug to keep on hand to halt an overdose. The antidote - naloxone, which is sold under the brand name Narcan - can save the life of someone who might not call 911 for fear of prosecution, treatment providers say.
As I see it, there is a way to stop people from dying by distributing Narcan to drug users. But that is met with the following statement from the White House –
"We don't want to send the message out that there is a safe way to use heroin," said Jennifer DeVallance, a spokeswoman for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, which sponsored a symposium Friday on the fentanyl problem in Philadelphia.
So what is the alternative? I guess it is ok for drug users to die of an overdose instead of giving them a chance to live. We wouldn’t want to err on the side of life for people who use drugs.
However, our President would prefer to destroy an embryo instead of providing researchers with an opportunity to find a cure for some of the most deadly diseases which kill millions of people each year. It is also apparent that he has no love for drug addicts and would prefer that they simply fall asleep and never wake up again.
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