See also: http://www.mapinc.org/alert/0419.html and 1000 Feet
ADVOCACY AND ACTIVISM DO WORK: The Media Awareness Project, Drug Policy Alliance, and other advocacy groups can claim success in their recent campaign that disclosed the restrictive fine print in the original spending bill to appropriate federal funds to needle exchanges, including a letter writing campaign.
StoptheDrugWar.org posted breaking news just after 2:00 today that in a Saturday morning Subcommittee vote, the Senate Committee endorsed a spending appropriates bill that would lift a 21-year old ban on federal funding of Needle Exchange Programs, WITHOUT the restrictive language preventing SEP's within 1000 feet of "just about anywhere" --see Drug Policy Alliance news release ; See Dave Borden's take here.
In a second major victory, Congress also lifted their restriction on a medical marijuana bill that was passed by D.C. voters 10 years ago, but held from becoming law by Congress. This is a two-fold victory, in that it also sets a precedent for Congress to ease on the "micromanagement" of the District residents. After a long wait, DC residents will finally have access to medical marijuana.
Showing posts with label harm reduction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label harm reduction. Show all posts
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
ONE THOUSAND FEET
ONE THOUSAND FEET
JOE: The Addicts
JUDGE: The Regulators and Lawmakers
JURY: The Peers
JOE:
“For one thousand feet, they spread the plague
With rules and tools and laws that are vague.
The fall to death is quick and steep
With no help within one thousand feet.”
JUDGE:
“An imperfect destiny is what’s in the rig,
And it may be too late for you to renege,
But within that space the Reaper is home,
where death is by alphabet, HCV, HIV,
Auto Immune Deficiency Syndrome.
JURY:
“A light to those who rightly believe
That harm reduction can relieve
Disease and death through a simple exchange
From dirty to clean and the count is the same.
For twenty one years the federal laws stayed
To ban program funding of needle exchange,
And yes they will lift it, but in the fine print it
Reads “make them stay at one thousand feet!”
JUDGE:
“One thousand feet? That’s not so far -
Just like the porn shop or biker bar!
Not near the school nor near the park,
Away from our youth, over there in the dark!
They don’t need to see a line over there
Of junkies who need to sharpen their ware.”
JURY:
“Though some disagree say that one thousand feet
Is an impossible restriction on a metro street.
A divided nation, no one can agree
Demagogues and demi-gods, elected imperfectly
Our leaders and rulers have their own destiny,
of judgment and justice, imperfectly."
JOE:
“For one thousand feet, they spread the plague
With rules and tools and laws that are vague.
For one thousand feet, a sick addict must crawl
In order to safely alleviate withdrawal.”
JURY:
"Progress moves slow and the War is long,
And after One Hundred years it’s been proved wrong
Again and again, that more harm than good
Comes from laws of what shouldn’t and what should."
A compromise please of one thousand feet,
As these are our laws, imperfectly.
© 2009 Kimmarie Rojas
Please go to:
http://www.mapinc.org/alert/0419.html
to learn more about the Senate bill regarding SEP’s and Harm Reduction.
JOE: The Addicts
JUDGE: The Regulators and Lawmakers
JURY: The Peers
JOE:
“For one thousand feet, they spread the plague
With rules and tools and laws that are vague.
The fall to death is quick and steep
With no help within one thousand feet.”
JUDGE:
“An imperfect destiny is what’s in the rig,
And it may be too late for you to renege,
But within that space the Reaper is home,
where death is by alphabet, HCV, HIV,
Auto Immune Deficiency Syndrome.
JURY:
“A light to those who rightly believe
That harm reduction can relieve
Disease and death through a simple exchange
From dirty to clean and the count is the same.
For twenty one years the federal laws stayed
To ban program funding of needle exchange,
And yes they will lift it, but in the fine print it
Reads “make them stay at one thousand feet!”
JUDGE:
“One thousand feet? That’s not so far -
Just like the porn shop or biker bar!
Not near the school nor near the park,
Away from our youth, over there in the dark!
They don’t need to see a line over there
Of junkies who need to sharpen their ware.”
JURY:
“Though some disagree say that one thousand feet
Is an impossible restriction on a metro street.
A divided nation, no one can agree
Demagogues and demi-gods, elected imperfectly
Our leaders and rulers have their own destiny,
of judgment and justice, imperfectly."
JOE:
“For one thousand feet, they spread the plague
With rules and tools and laws that are vague.
For one thousand feet, a sick addict must crawl
In order to safely alleviate withdrawal.”
JURY:
"Progress moves slow and the War is long,
And after One Hundred years it’s been proved wrong
Again and again, that more harm than good
Comes from laws of what shouldn’t and what should."
A compromise please of one thousand feet,
As these are our laws, imperfectly.
© 2009 Kimmarie Rojas
Please go to:
http://www.mapinc.org/alert/0419.html
to learn more about the Senate bill regarding SEP’s and Harm Reduction.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
“RECENTLY, I DID SOME CLINICAL WORK AT A METHADONE CLINIC”
This comment was a response to a posted blog in the Addictions Recovery Professionals group at Linked In (http://www.linkedin.com/). The original blogger is an addictions counselor discussing working at Methadone clinics. Please review the many comments at: http://www.linkedin.com/groupAnswers?viewQuestionAndAnswers=&gid=862107&discussionID=4887361&goback=%2Eanh_862107
Mr. Jenkins, others,
Thank you for concisely and clearly stating the facts regarding the unique physiology of opiate addiction. Pure science dictates the intractability of opiate addiction in the malfunction of opiate receptors. It has nothing to do with “will power”, but rather with changes that occur in the brain and neurological synapses.
For many years I advocated for medicated recovery, specifically Methadone, and was deeply involved and invested in the passage and implementation of the Drug Abuse and Treatment Act of 2001 (DATA). In addition to changing methadone rules, this Act allowed for the private physician use of Suboxone for opiate withdrawal and maintenance. In my research and advocacy since then, I have come to believe that Suboxone/ Buprenorphine/Naltrexone may be a better choice in many circumstances. Methadone is very effective for long term treatment of heroin addiction. Still, it has many drawbacks, specifically, the difficulty in withdrawal; however, the stigma of Methadone also cannot be underestimated in its effects on the clients social wellness. As such, Methadone should be used as a last resort, only after other avenues have failed, including abstinence programs.
True stabilization and reorientation into a non-drug seeking lifestyle can take many years, and even then, it is not unusual for heroin addicts to relapse, often after many years of abstinence. True, intractable heroin addiction may best be treated with life-long Methadone, in terms of the client’s well being and social harm reduction. Too many times, though, clients are accepted into Methadone clinics before other treatments have been attempted. Often, these patients may be opiate naïve in comparison to long-term heroin addicts seeking methadone maintenance. The methadone may get them off of their “drug of choice”, but only addicted to one that is even more difficult to overcome. In these cases, if abstinence is not an option, then Suboxone should be used. Using methadone in anything but the most severe cases, i.e., the patient is at risk of IV related disease and social degradation, is like swatting a fly with a sledgehammer.
I also agree that your “Counselors-in-relapse” is a valid paradigm, and one seen much too often in recovery. While some addicts in treatment may prefer to have a counselor that is also a recovering addict, the value of learning the pathology and physiology underlying opiate addiction an educated cannot be understated, nor can the value of certification. The best of both worlds, of course, would be ideal, and fortunately many recovering addicts have gone on to receive certification and/or college graduation. When I hear of recovering counselors who have been clean for less than two years working in methadone clinics, I worry that they are not only ineffective, still fighting their own battles, but they are also putting their own recovery at risk by being in a drug-centered environment before they have had a chance to put that environment behind them, and think themselves “well”.
Mr. Jenkins, others,
Thank you for concisely and clearly stating the facts regarding the unique physiology of opiate addiction. Pure science dictates the intractability of opiate addiction in the malfunction of opiate receptors. It has nothing to do with “will power”, but rather with changes that occur in the brain and neurological synapses.
For many years I advocated for medicated recovery, specifically Methadone, and was deeply involved and invested in the passage and implementation of the Drug Abuse and Treatment Act of 2001 (DATA). In addition to changing methadone rules, this Act allowed for the private physician use of Suboxone for opiate withdrawal and maintenance. In my research and advocacy since then, I have come to believe that Suboxone/ Buprenorphine/Naltrexone may be a better choice in many circumstances. Methadone is very effective for long term treatment of heroin addiction. Still, it has many drawbacks, specifically, the difficulty in withdrawal; however, the stigma of Methadone also cannot be underestimated in its effects on the clients social wellness. As such, Methadone should be used as a last resort, only after other avenues have failed, including abstinence programs.
True stabilization and reorientation into a non-drug seeking lifestyle can take many years, and even then, it is not unusual for heroin addicts to relapse, often after many years of abstinence. True, intractable heroin addiction may best be treated with life-long Methadone, in terms of the client’s well being and social harm reduction. Too many times, though, clients are accepted into Methadone clinics before other treatments have been attempted. Often, these patients may be opiate naïve in comparison to long-term heroin addicts seeking methadone maintenance. The methadone may get them off of their “drug of choice”, but only addicted to one that is even more difficult to overcome. In these cases, if abstinence is not an option, then Suboxone should be used. Using methadone in anything but the most severe cases, i.e., the patient is at risk of IV related disease and social degradation, is like swatting a fly with a sledgehammer.
I also agree that your “Counselors-in-relapse” is a valid paradigm, and one seen much too often in recovery. While some addicts in treatment may prefer to have a counselor that is also a recovering addict, the value of learning the pathology and physiology underlying opiate addiction an educated cannot be understated, nor can the value of certification. The best of both worlds, of course, would be ideal, and fortunately many recovering addicts have gone on to receive certification and/or college graduation. When I hear of recovering counselors who have been clean for less than two years working in methadone clinics, I worry that they are not only ineffective, still fighting their own battles, but they are also putting their own recovery at risk by being in a drug-centered environment before they have had a chance to put that environment behind them, and think themselves “well”.
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