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| Europe |
| Germany planning "heroin therapy" for some addicts |
| 2006-05-02 |
| The German government is planning to supply long-term drug addicts with controlled amounts of free heroin to "improve their health," the government's commissioner for substance abuse Sabine Baetzing said on Monday. "A heroin therapy is the last hope and provides help for survival for some of those who are addicted," Baetzing said in an interview to appear in Tuesday's Die Welt newspaper. "It can improve their health and stabilize their social situation." Baetzing, a member of the centre-left Social Democrats, said she was confident the conservative Christian Democrats, who lead their grand coalition government, would agree to back the plan to give between 1,000 and 1,500 addicts taxpayer-funded heroin. Baetzing said that pilot projects in seven German cities had shown that giving controlled amounts of heroin to long-term addicts had a higher success rate than using methadone. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #10 If big enough doses used, it should work. |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2006-05-02 13:59 |
| #9 That 1 in a 1000 would have lawyers in the US gnawing through steel for a shot at suing anyone and everyone involved. stole it! »:-) |
| Posted by: RD 2006-05-02 13:45 |
| #8 but who's to say they're still not getting more heroin from their other "providers") I will acknowledge that is a good point. Always someone willing to make a buck on food stamps etc. I'm not going to work out the details of a succesful program cause there will always be someone able to scam off something like this - but I think medical assistance for heroin addicts - with free heroin - is a better solution than leaving them to prostitution and crime. The system is broke. It needs fixing. |
| Posted by: 2b 2006-05-02 13:09 |
| #7 agree Danielle. The thing is BA, you just haven't yet been robbed for a fix yet. But many, many people have and it is a terrible problem. The percentage of crime committed in NYC for a drug fix is staggering - sorry I don't remember the percentage but it is well over 70%. I've never used heroin and can't imagine why anyone would do that anymore than they'd be willing to play russian roullette with only one round in the chamber empty. But you pay tax dollars to treat sick people every day including other things like anti-anxiety meds for bored housewives, viagra for ..well you get my point. Addicts are very, very sick and there is no cure. Sure it's an illness that they are responsible for creating, but you spend more of your tax dollars for people who have illnesses because they choose to eat too much than you ever would for heroin addicts. Obesity is the number one cause of heart attacks, diabetes, etc. etc. You gonna make them rob for their insulin pills? We'll save tax money on crime fighting, security, insurance etc.etc. in exchange for some cheap white pills. I'm all for it. |
| Posted by: 2b 2006-05-02 13:01 |
| #6 Getting them off their addiction should be a priority and using taxpayer funds may be cheaper in the long run. We need to shut down the Afghan poppies that fund terrorism, and the same black market smuggling routes are also used for other illicit deals and people smuggling. Controlling our borders and ports means a sharp increase in crime to subsidize income. Turf wars, angry drug lords, and petty addicts needing an ever increasingly expensive fix as supply declines means a different approach needs considered. Therapy and treatment has been neglected and incarceration plus the social costs of caring for all these special-needs and neglected children of addicted parents probably exceeds any treatment costs. Wish they had successful treatment for meth-heads, as the destruction it causes can't be calculated in dollars. |
| Posted by: Danielle 2006-05-02 12:05 |
| #5 2b, I have to (respectfully) disagree with you. While I lean libertarian...heck, as long as you're not robbing me for your fix $, I'm fine with you ruining your life, part of me (Christian) wants to help these people. However, using tax-payer $ to pay for their heroin (which maybe small amounts themselves, but who's to say they're still not getting more heroin from their other "providers") is absolutely ridiculous. Make it legal? That can be debated on libertarian vs. republican ideals, but using taxpayer money to buy them heroin is ridiculous, even if it gets them off their addiction. |
| Posted by: BA 2006-05-02 11:42 |
| #4 That 1 in a 1000 would have lawyers in the US gnawing through steel for a shot at suing anyone and everyone involved. |
| Posted by: Laurence of the Rats 2006-05-02 10:17 |
| #3 the one-in-a-thousand fatality rate is a convenient excuse Because as we all know, their chances of survival are so much greater on the streets. |
| Posted by: 2b 2006-05-02 09:58 |
| #2 I gather there is a highly successful 3-drug treatment that for some reason is not being widely used. It has about a one-in-a-thousand fatality rate, invariably junkies who are in very poor health. The first drug is the dangerous one, it keeps them in a coma for four days, during which they undergo withdrawl. The second drug strips all heroin from their body, and the third drug blocks the nerve receptors for a month. When they wake up, they are heroin free, and for an entire month they will get no effect from injecting heroin. Then, for the next six months, they get a follow-up shot each month and counseling. However, the one-in-a-thousand fatality rate is a convenient excuse to not even permit testing in the US. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-05-02 09:51 |
| #1 yeah for Germany! I find it so ridiculous that we force addicts into a horrific life of crime in order to treat their illness. They are sick. They need medical help, not blame and shame for past mistakes they made in life. If this allows them to live (more) productive lives, then yeah for Germany. |
| Posted by: 2b 2006-05-02 09:51 |