Current Events > Bernie Sanders makes history by being first presidential candidate to endorse

(+) Yeah! (+)

supervised injection sites.


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Later on this morning...

Warren: Legalize safe injection sites and needle exchanges around the country, and support pilot programs for supervised injection sites, which have shown to substantially reduce drug overdose deaths.
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lol

I can't wait to read all the 1950s era hot takes on this one
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I hope this happens, it's badly needed

I'd much rather the focus be on removing the drugs than helping them do drugs.

Needle exchange sounds like the government would be buying and supplying equipment for drug users.
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I mean if it's really about saving lives they should go all out and legalize the drugs to begin with. Illegal drugs can have dangerous impurities in them not to mention varying potency. Not that this is bad, but it feels like a band-aid.
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SF started a needle exchange program a while back and now there are untold thousands of needles littered across the city. They meant well but ultimately just created a bigger health hazard.
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I used to support this idea after watching The Wire, with legalized drugs and everything. After having a family member go through addiction, I support anything that would make drugs harder to get. There were times where I thought "just OD already." Sounds terrible, I know.
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So long as these centers are across the street from Bernie's house and the houses of every politician who supports them, I'm all for it.

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ssjevot posted...

I mean if it's really about saving lives they should go all out and legalize the drugs to begin with. Illegal drugs can have dangerous impurities in them not to mention varying potency. Not that this is bad, but it feels like a band-aid.

some drugs should not be legalized at all, like meth and heroin.
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As harsh as this sounds, this may end up just increasing prevalence of drug use. It's making IV drug use safer and more accessible which imo is a bad thing. It's not hard to imagine deals happening at those sites too. Plus less drug related deaths=more users and less fear among users. I'm a doctor and I've had plenty of patients get clean after a friend overdosed. Its unfortunate but it's human nature.
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Can someone explain this to me ? This is the first time Ive heard of this.

At first I thought it was assisted suicide/euthanasia, but based on the responses in this topic it sounds like supervised drug use ?

Is it specifically for illicit and illegal drug use ? Or is it for things like insulin and stuff ?

Trying to wrap my head around this in order to form an opinion
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AlCalavicci posted...

Is it specifically for illicit and illegal drug use ?

Yes

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AlCalavicci posted...

Can someone explain this to me ? This is the first time Ive heard of this.

At first I thought it was assisted suicide/euthanasia, but based on the responses in this topic it sounds like supervised drug use ?

Is it specifically for illicit and illegal drug use ? Or is it for things like insulin and stuff ?

Trying to wrap my head around this in order to form an opinion

It's so homeless people can inject heroin in a safe supervised environment instead of abandoned homes, where they kill themselves and each other, and spread disease. I'd imagine they also have support systems at these sites if you choose to leave the lifestyle. Or that's the idea anyway
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For the people ITT who think the only thing stopping people from using heroin is not having access to clean needles....

uhhh....

lol?

Thats patently absurd.

AlCalavicci posted...

Can someone explain this to me ? This is the first time Ive heard of this.

At first I thought it was assisted suicide/euthanasia, but based on the responses in this topic it sounds like supervised drug use ?

Is it specifically for illicit and illegal drug use ? Or is it for things like insulin and stuff ?

Trying to wrap my head around this in order to form an opinion

Its so that people who use illicit injected drugs have clean needles instead of having to use dirty ones.
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One step closer to Hamsterdam
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Interesting

SpiralDrift posted...

SF started a needle exchange program a while back and now there are untold thousands of needles littered across the city. They meant well but ultimately just created a bigger health hazard.

Same thing happened in my home town. Overdoes did go down but the amount of needles found in public restrooms skyrocketed. Several businesses near the exchange quit having a bathroom available to the public. Needle exchange was something I was for when it was first introduced but now Im firmly against it.
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Nothing really new, theyve had them in the city I live in for past 20 years. Its has saved lots of lives and helped people who wanted to go clean

TheBiggerWiggle posted...

SpiralDrift posted...

SF started a needle exchange program a while back and now there are untold thousands of needles littered across the city. They meant well but ultimately just created a bigger health hazard.

Same thing happened in my home town. Overdoes did go down but the amount of needles found in public restrooms skyrocketed. Several businesses near the exchange quit having a bathroom available to the public. Needle exchange was something I was for when it was first introduced but now Im firmly against it.

Hire people to clean the needles up. Thats job creation.
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Hot takes rolling in.

@Balrog0 can you shed some actual light on this please
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As someone who deals with OD patients all the time, this is such a terrible idea. This drug destroys lives and the addiction overrides your survival instincts and they want our tax money for this shit? Any politician that agrees to safe injection sites are delusional and shouldn't have anyone's vote >_>
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MetalGearSquid posted...

As someone who deals with OD patients all the time, this is such a terrible idea. This drug destroys lives and the addiction overrides your survival instincts and they want our tax money for this shit? Any politician that agrees to safe injection sites are delusional and shouldn't have anyone's vote >_>

What do you consider to be a better alternative?
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green dragon posted...

ssjevot posted...

I mean if it's really about saving lives they should go all out and legalize the drugs to begin with. Illegal drugs can have dangerous impurities in them not to mention varying potency. Not that this is bad, but it feels like a band-aid.

some drugs should not be legalized at all, like meth and heroin.

Why? Keeping them illegal doesn't mean people can't access them, and if we're going to decide we want them to have a safe, government sponsored environment to use them, why not just take it full circle and make it safer from the point of sale as well (not to mention collect tax revenue)?
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shockthemonkey posted...

Found the NIMBY

he unironically is lmao

IfGodCouldDie posted...

MetalGearSquid posted...

As someone who deals with OD patients all the time, this is such a terrible idea. This drug destroys lives and the addiction overrides your survival instincts and they want our tax money for this shit? Any politician that agrees to safe injection sites are delusional and shouldn't have anyone's vote >_>

What do you consider to be a better alternative?

I'll be honest, I don't know. Having restrictions on doctors just giving opioids out like candy is a start. But definitely not injection sites. That's a dumb idea and will just breed more addicts >_>
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ssjevot posted...

green dragon posted...

ssjevot posted...

I mean if it's really about saving lives they should go all out and legalize the drugs to begin with. Illegal drugs can have dangerous impurities in them not to mention varying potency. Not that this is bad, but it feels like a band-aid.

some drugs should not be legalized at all, like meth and heroin.

Why? Keeping them illegal doesn't mean people can't access them, and if we're going to decide we want them to have a safe, government sponsored environment to use them, why not just take it full circle and make it safer from the point of sale as well (not to mention collect tax revenue)?

The only way this works is if the government takes a hit and sells it at equal or less than street price because if it is more expensive, like
Marijuana has been at least where I live, people will still buy it on the black market.
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We shouldn't be accomodating addicts like this. I don't think we should be punishing them either. If they want to ruin their health and their lives with heroin then they should have the freedom to do so, but the taxpayers shouldn't be providing suites for them to shoot up in.
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MetalGearSquid posted...

IfGodCouldDie posted...

MetalGearSquid posted...

As someone who deals with OD patients all the time, this is such a terrible idea. This drug destroys lives and the addiction overrides your survival instincts and they want our tax money for this shit? Any politician that agrees to safe injection sites are delusional and shouldn't have anyone's vote >_>

What do you consider to be a better alternative?

I'll be honest, I don't know. Having restrictions on doctors just giving opioids out like candy is a start. But definitely not injection sites. That's a dumb idea >_>

I agree that opioids should be much more heavily monitored and restricted. And as shitty as it is to even be having a discussion about how to deal with this scenario, if the goal is to save lives this will help.
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Were_Wyrm posted...

Later on this morning...

Warren: Legalize safe injection sites and needle exchanges around the country, and support pilot programs for supervised injection sites, which have shown to substantially reduce drug overdose deaths.

lmao this.

Reminds me of that old tweet.

Apple CEO announces that he is gay. Next day Samsung CEO announces he is even more gay and waterproof.

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DifferentialEquation posted...

We shouldn't be accomodating addicts like this. I don't think we should be punishing them either. If they want to ruin their health and their lives with heroin then they should have the freedom to do so, but the taxpayers shouldn't be providing suites for them to shoot up in.

These arent suites dude, its literally about clean needles and its beneficial to the health of the entire community. Why the fuck would anyone be against this? Its like saying we shouldnt teach people to wash their hands. Jesus Christ.
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Also this being in Philadelphia makes me hope IASIP covers it in some way. This seems right up their alley.
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I think these places should exist but if you want to use them you have to mandatory get on a program to un-addict you, with the anti withdrawal drugs and so on.

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Worth pointing out that even if you genuinely believe that this is a valuable initiative that will save lives, it's utterly stupid to actually have this as a platform issue. The Republicans are just going to take this and run campaign ads showing junkies infesting the suburbs and kids finding heroin needles in playgrounds. Bernie and Warren are so tone deaf and stuck in their bubbles that they're oblivious to that, which is why they're both joke candidates with no chance of winning a national election.

The way to sell this politically is just to push the criminal reform angle and save the injection site aspects for when the legislation is being drafted and the voting public has tuned out. The Democrats need to learn that not every good idea needs to be a stump issue, especially when it's polarizing to the general public.

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Shablagoo posted...

DifferentialEquation posted...

We shouldn't be accomodating addicts like this. I don't think we should be punishing them either. If they want to ruin their health and their lives with heroin then they should have the freedom to do so, but the taxpayers shouldn't be providing suites for them to shoot up in.

These arent suites dude, its literally about clean needles and its beneficial to the health of the entire community. Why the fuck would anyone be against this? Its like saying we shouldnt teach people to wash their hands. Jesus Christ.

This isn't about the health of the entire community, it's about the health of people choosing to abuse dangerous drugs. And if anything, this might hurt the health of the general population when hospitals and clinics have to start rationing their syringes because becasue so many are now going to accommodate the addicts. There aren't unlimited needles in the world and, just as an example, when the elderly aren't able to get their flu shots as easily and children can't get their vaccines because needles are now in short supply that's going to be a lot worse for the community. Or, at the very least, the price of needles is going to skyrocket.
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The Admiral posted...

Worth pointing out that even if you genuinely believe that this is a valuable initiative that will save lives, it's utterly stupid to actually have this as a platform issue. The Republicans are just going to take this and run campaign ads showing junkies infesting the suburbs and kids finding heroin needles in playgrounds. Bernie and Warren are so tone deaf and stuck in their bubbles that they're oblivious to that, which is why they're both joke candidates with no chance of winning a national election.

The way to sell this politically is just to push the criminal reform angle and save the injection site aspects for when the legislation is being drafted and the voting public has tuned out. The Democrats need to learn that not every good idea needs to be a stump issue, especially when its polarizing to the general public.

I disagree. If you push "criminal reform" what you're instead going to get are pictures of some illegal immigrant and some captions "this guy raped and murdered a 13 year old girl and Bernie wants to reward him with a middle class life"

By singling out addicts, you're going to invoke more of a victimless crime policy.

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Conservatives will accuse every Democrat who talks about criminal justice of setting loose dangerous criminals in the suburbs.
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The Admiral posted...

Worth pointing out that even if you genuinely believe that this is a valuable initiative that will save lives, it's utterly stupid to actually have this as a platform issue. The Republicans are just going to take this and run campaign ads showing junkies infesting the suburbs and kids finding heroin needles in playgrounds. Bernie and Warren are so tone deaf and stuck in their bubbles that they're oblivious to that, which is why they're both joke candidates with no chance of winning a national election.

The way to sell this politically is just to push the criminal reform angle and save the injection site aspects for when the legislation is being drafted and the voting public has tuned out. The Democrats need to learn that not every good idea needs to be a stump issue, especially when it's polarizing to the general public.

This concern for how the other side might portray the stance is never extended to Republicans who campaign on deeply unpopular stances. Do you think the Trump campaign spent time worrying about the ads Democrats would make off his speeches?
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Just legalize drugs. All of them.
Prohibition does more societal and fiscal damage than the addicts themselves ever could.

DifferentialEquation posted...

Shablagoo posted...

DifferentialEquation posted...

We shouldn't be accomodating addicts like this. I don't think we should be punishing them either. If they want to ruin their health and their lives with heroin then they should have the freedom to do so, but the taxpayers shouldn't be providing suites for them to shoot up in.

These arent suites dude, its literally about clean needles and its beneficial to the health of the entire community. Why the fuck would anyone be against this? Its like saying we shouldnt teach people to wash their hands. Jesus Christ.

This isn't about the health of the entire community, it's about the health of people choosing to abuse dangerous drugs. And if anything, this might hurt the health of the general population when hospitals and clinics have to start rationing their syringes because becasue so many are now going to accommodate the addicts. There aren't unlimited needles in the world and, just as an example, when the elderly aren't able to get their flu shots as easily and children can't get their vaccines because needles are now in short supply that's going to be a lot worse for the community. Or, at the very least, the price of needles is going to skyrocket.

You know that addicts interact with the rest of the population, right? So if a drug user gets a disease from a dirty needle, it can be spread to anyone in the community. Thus, these centers are beneficial to the health of the entire community.
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The Admiral posted...

Worth pointing out that even if you genuinely believe that this is a valuable initiative that will save lives, it's utterly stupid to actually have this as a platform issue. The Republicans are just going to take this and run campaign ads showing junkies infesting the suburbs and kids finding heroin needles in playgrounds. Bernie and Warren are so tone deaf and stuck in their bubbles that they're oblivious to that, which is why they're both joke candidates with no chance of winning a national election.

The way to sell this politically is just to push the criminal reform angle and save the injection site aspects for when the legislation is being drafted and the voting public has tuned out. The Democrats need to learn that not every good idea needs to be a stump issue, especially when it's polarizing to the general public.

I actually agree with The Admiral on this one

Think I might need to go lie down now
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SpiralDrift posted...

SF started a needle exchange program a while back and now there are untold thousands of needles littered across the city. They meant well but ultimately just created a bigger health hazard.

That sounds like they are doing it really wrong. Should be, turn in a needle, get a needle. Not just hand needles out. If you hand them out, they can just toss them wherever, if they are required to turn it in, then they will save them.
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