A new law has been put in place where police are not allowed to arrest people who have overdosed on drugs. They are looking at overdoses as a public health issue and not a criminal issue. They hope to gain the trust of drug users and eliminate "preventable deaths". The city council states that friends that witness overdoses are afraid to call 911 because they are afraid that their friend will be arrested at the hospital. Instead they watch them die because they don't get help. This is true for those that OD as well. They are too afraid to call for help because they think that they are going to be arrested.
The city of Washington D.C. is hoping that this will reduce the number of deaths from drug overdoses.
What do you think?
My honest opinion? I think this is a load of crap.
So a person overdoses on illegal drugs and there are no repercussions at all? They are caught RED HANDED injecting or snorting drugs that ruin lives and lead to robberies and murders and yet they go free because they were stupid and took too much or got a bad batch? What is this going to teach them? They will just go home and do it all over again without consequences.
Seems like a pretty stupid idea to me but maybe I am looking at it the wrong way?
Thoughts?
Source: Huffington Post
I don't think it's a bad idea if it is saving lives daily even though it is illegal I don't think internal possession should be as illegal unless you repeatedly overdose it's not like people want to almost die . It will atleast give them a chance to get clean
ReplyDeleteNatural selection. Don't do drugs. I'm sure all these junkies are really contributing to society.
DeleteNot every addict is a junkie. People struggling with addiction do contribute to society. They maintain there habbit, they're not getting high for fun like a junkie. Your college professor could be an addict and you'd never notice. I think t his law can help a lot of people get clean. These people aren't purposely trying to kill themselves, maybe a close call will wake them up. They could add to the law that after treatment of the od the hospitals can help the addict find a rehab or outpatient treatment. Just a thought.
DeleteEither way they are going to do the drugs if they're arrested or not. I was told from someone I know with an addiction that's it's easier to get drugs in prison than it is to get it on the streets. He said there are security officers that let it in for a price.
ReplyDeleteI don't think there are laws against being high. It is illegal to possess, transport, sell, buy or distribute drugs. So if the person is just high and not committing a crime then they should not be arrested
ReplyDeleteDo not think for a second that an overdose isn't a consequence. It's a dark circle of hell that a human being lives in to be compelled to take a potentially lethal dose of anything. The criminal justice solution simply doesn't work. We see evidence IN OUR FACES of that every day. There are very few who are happy with the results of our current solution, and droves of people who are dead. Do you know how much it costs us taxpayers to keep funding jailing people who nearly killed themselves? It's ridiculous. So no, don't lock them up. I don't want to pay for it. It obviously doesn't work. I'm willing to try SOMETHING different in the hopes that it would work better.
ReplyDeleteI dont think the caller should get in any trouble but the on that is overdosing should!!! Sometimes its that wake up call what they need... although there r many people that lose their life to active addiction u can't help someone that DONT want the help or isn't ready for it.. I have witnessed someone survive an overdose nd that in its self was a major wake up call nd the push for me to become a L.A.D.C
ReplyDelete