Safe Speed Forums

Provided they get planning permission..

There will be a free "Grab a clean needle for your "fix"" machine.

Apparently pharmacists in North Wales are averse to dishing out clean needles to addicts on the basis that they "have been threatened by these persons - who have demanded drugs as well as needles from them" Thus they refused to supply the clean needles.


Brainstorm full of £"self congrats" - nowt new there then


Now.. I am opposed to drug abuse of any kind. No drug is "safe or harmless" and the damage to mind and body long term is far from "harmless". No such thing as "controlled addiction" Addiction is what it says on the tin.

"Total abnormal and compulsive dependency on a substance"

and more you feed ... the greater the craving for the same feed and more besides. Gorging until rot and death set in.

However, part of my job is to contain the lurgies and I have a severe problem with lurgies and dirty and shared needles as well. So yes .. I ensure clean syringes are available .. no questions asked.

However, no matter how many we make freely available.. they still share .. because of habit and not necessity

Now some people may think addiction can be controlled and that free needles and needle parks cut drug related crime. But they don't in real terms. These people drive cars in this drugged up state. Or ride bikes in that condition. Unfit to be in control of anything on wheels on a public highway - which can cause harm to another if not used with full faculties. That is a crime which can cost the lives of other innocents. Brain and body are sluggishly slow to react to danger.

They also lose emotional self controls and can be fairly unstable and erratic - especially if fired up with alcohol. And if a heroin addict needs a fix - far from the dociler drugged state... which again cannot handle either a bicycle or car in today's busy cities.

Admit that my concerns over lurgy and HIV spreads over-ride my more moral concerns over drug abuse and I ensure availabity of clean unused syringes and needles and even disposal facilties for used ones. But up against habits dying hard... poor education over drugs and even glorification of drug usage.

I watch over my own kids like a hawk .. they know both Wildy and self will spot any signs of any substance abuse and we hope we are educating them not to be drawn to any substance abuse - but still show compassion and understanding to those who are.

I have never kept it overly secret on this board that my youngest son (whom I adopted and love very dearly) was born addicted to heroin. The reason why I make this public knowledge is quite simple:

This little boy was just a month old when we first took charge of him as a foster child. His mother (addict) died in childbirth. His father was a dealer serving a prison sentence. We later applied to adopt him as our own. He was aged four by this time and had only known us as his parents. It would have destroyed him.. but then his father also died from an overdose.

We observed at first hand the harrowing situation of a born baby addict screaming for a heroin fix and not a cuddle or his mama's milks. We lost several nights sleep caring and trying to soothe and ween this little baby from his dependency on the substance. He is still an addict and will be for his whole lifetime which stretches out in front of him. We are careful when he is ill. - prescriptions matter - and we had to tell him why as well. He is now aged six years. Energetic.. robust..intelligent .. enthusiastic about school and his bicycle. Very loving and loveable in nature.

Andrew.. my youngest son.. and God help and always protect him - he has already done his bit for my own brood and their many cousins .. Through him .. they had an education about the dangers of drug abuse which I could never have otherwise conveyed.

I shall never support anything which promotes or tries to justify hard drug abuse. Drug addiction is not quite like alcoholism: it's immediate whereas a dependency on booze is just a bit more gradual.

Do not read me completely wrong though.. I will accept that some will "escape woes of life" by thinking they find peace and solace by drugs/drink...

I just happen to think we can provide better solace for these people by being pleasantly human and trying to educate and steer well away in the first place.

Life is for living and experiencing and sensation and zest (good and bad) should not be dulled and dimmed by drugs and drink to excess.

I am pleased to say most of my patients do listen to me.. and I try to improve the time all I see have left to them. But .. that is my job when all is said and done. That's what's expected of me.. to improve the quality of life remaining. And I do try very hard to do that.

_________________
If you want to get to heaven - you have to raise a little hell!

Smilies are contagious
They are just like the flu
We use our smilies on YOU today
Now Good Causes are smiling too!

KEEP SMILING
It makes folk wonder just what you REALLY got up to last night!

Smily to penny.. penny to pound
safespeed prospers-smiles all round! !
But the real message? SMILE.. GO ON ! DO IT! and the world will smile with you!
Enjoy life! You only have the one bite at it.

My heart goes out to you for all you've done here.

I am assuming that your programme weaning him off the diamorphine lasted only a few months, and that he was physically de-addicted before he was aware of any of the associations (needles etc)? If so, why do you say he is still an addict? Is there a greater danger he will revert than, say, one of your other children will take up drug use, solely because he's already been there, albeit through absolutely no fault of his own, and probably without any recollection of having so been?

After months of weaning him away from this total dependency - he ist now a fine healthy child.. growing up well.



It is a bit like the aftermath of alcoholism.. Once drug taken again.. body seems to absorb the substance with vengeance. No one actually found out conclusively why this ist so.

Also some allergies und idiosyncrasies to substances have been found to develop even in the womb if baby within there disagrees with what Mama ate.

His body will react badly to certain medicines .. so we are aware und he also has to be aware.



Nein - we think he will remain "clean" - but there are certain legitimate und legally prescribed medicines he will have to avoid as result. He would not thank us if he were to find out as adult - und he already ist aware that he reacted badly to some medicine prescribed after a routine visit to GP - und even I (toppest brewer of devilish concoctions in my day job) was unaware that he could react that way...

The medicine had a very teeny trace of morphine... negligent to majority .. but caused mayhem in our household as our lad was climbing up to the drugs cabinet for it.

As for the needles outside the police station..

I am not sure if the addicts would pop along there to get them anyway. Better to offer at the sort of places where they do hang out. Also seems to convey a message that North Wales police condone drug taking when they should be out nabbling those dealers, barons und predators who lure these kids into drug abuse in the first place.

Und spell out the dangers of all substance abuse too.

_________________
Nicht ganz im Lot!
Ich setze mich immer wieder in die Nesseln! Der Mad Doc ist mein Mann! Und ich benutzte seinen PC!

UND OUR SMILEYS? Smile ... und the the world smiles with you.
Smiley guy seen when you read
Fine me for Safe Speed
(& other good causes..)

Greatest love & Greatest Achievements Require Greatest Risk
But if you lose the driving plan - don't lose the COAST lesson.
Me?
Je ne regrette rien!

So why cant the police set up traps at needle collection points to sting the addicts in an underhand way similar to that used on motorists??

Or am I missing something here??

_________________

There's no money in catching drug addicts! To all those who say 'the law's the law etc. etc.' I say isn't it amazing that the authorities' propensity to want to catch lawbreakers increases with the lawbreaker's ability to pay...

I'm all for needle exchanges - I think its a good way of making the best out of a bad situation.

As for arresting addicts? While I have no sympathy what so ever for the self induced condition, it IS an illness none the less. Arresting and locking up for posession doesn't actually cure the problem. (Arresting and locking up for thieving on the other hand....)

IMO this should be the case with any drug use - unless you're dealing then you shouldn't be sent down for posession, there's no point. Its a waste of time and resources.

_________________
Science won over religion when they started installing lightning rods on churches.

No, I actually do agree with you Sixy - I was trying to make a point before about why some "crimes" are pursued (£££££) and some are accepted.


I have no wish to pay even more tax to help house and nanny drug addicts.

_________________

It wasn't a dig at you ed! You are right about crimes being persued simply in order to raise revenue.

_________________
Science won over religion when they started installing lightning rods on churches.

A free needle vending machine.

Please tell me this will be supervised in some way. Please.


If not, I see a kids getting hold of these things and using them to stab people or in pranks.


Brunstrom really is on crack. Perhaps thats why he needs all the camera fines?

From what I gather.. on wall at back of police station and CCTV cam watching.

He claims people reacted "violently" to the NHS van dishing out the needles in exchange for the used ones.

He also claims that the machine will only "vend" to those given an NHS token.

On R2 - full of slef praise.. even claiming he has lowest KSI in country.

Sorry Dick.. think if you really look at the stats.. IG's "rebels" have trumped you up again

My problem ..

1. addicts will be wary of the machine.
2. culture of sharing needles is hard to break
3. police may be seen to condone something illegal.. possession is still illegal and we ain't talking cannabis (and we have proven that this should never be a Class C anyway now - peer reviewed too - but will they U-turn on this )
4. Mixed message to kids.. "police helping us use the substance.. thus not "dangerous to mind and body"

I do have a programme whereby I ensure availability of clean and sterile syringes and needles for the area I am responsible for. I do not condone drug abuse - but I am the bloke who gets his ass kicked if I do not contain the lurgies in the area from spreading.

Where and when I can I educate against and do try to liaise with our schools to get message across that indulging in taking any drugs is not so cool and glam . As far as my own are concerned .. my older children saw the damage done to a baby in their formative years.



And NO - that;s not why we took on Andrew. This was a child in need and we are considered to be decent and fair fosters - despite a "rebellious questionning of policies". We've taken on worse than Andrew over the years of fostering - which we do because we like young people and we want to help those in need of some help.

Having said that - I do believe it helps my own kids' "education in compassion, empathy, responsibility, morals, ethics and understanding" - including the two much loved children whom we adopted and love equally as we do those fruits of a marriage. Likewise the fostered children benefit from mixing with our children and their pals. I am very pleased to note that all these children interact and mingle in a very reassuring manner as well. I 'd like to think we helped anyway.

For record.. Dick thinks he's doing the right thing by at least offering clean needles.

I hope his local addicts will use without fear of intimidation and I would also hope that Dick points them towards the means of beating a life threatening habit as well. Helping them enjoy and savour life without a drug to "help" them.

Yes.. but we have a problem with this being at the police station and I am not sure the addicts will use the machine anyway.

One of my patches involves rural "traditional" values. I do not use a van at all. I simply have a needle exchange facility at the local GP surgeries - where it's discreet and to all middle class eyes .. looks like "repeat prescription" But I also have notices giving details of help togive up the drugs.. how not to get sucked into that way of life and spelling out the dangers as well.

Successful? Only got the act together in last 18 months or so. Early signs are encouraging but only time will tell here . and we monitor in an objective fashion as well.

_________________
If you want to get to heaven - you have to raise a little hell!

Smilies are contagious
They are just like the flu
We use our smilies on YOU today
Now Good Causes are smiling too!

KEEP SMILING
It makes folk wonder just what you REALLY got up to last night!

Smily to penny.. penny to pound
safespeed prospers-smiles all round! !
But the real message? SMILE.. GO ON ! DO IT! and the world will smile with you!
Enjoy life! You only have the one bite at it.

MM- come out - stand up and take a bow - you deserve it - i expect others to join me in it.I ,for one have nothing but admiration and respect for your position, you will be like my doc and say "it's part of my job(and he carries sugar free mints in his pocket instead of fags)"

Roger - can't speak of drugs - can talk about fags - reckonned as much the same - first short time is easy - now after two + years the urge returns -so the same must be true for other druggies.Only thing that keeps me going is fact that i have gone without for 2+ years ( now for those waiting to say " you're blowng your trumpet "- i say -" i said so a few years ago "--"try getting hooked on something and giving up ---not easy"

_________________
lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

I had not considered sensitisation - but of course such a scenario is very real. Yet another down side I've learned to this scurge.

What on earth makes people venture into this world of filth..