Re: drug abuse among the homeless

Al Lewis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message news:<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>...
> On Mon, 01 Dec 2003 07:29:19 -0500, Brother Nate
> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 
> 
> >Al Lewis wrote:
> >> Brother Nate wrote: 
> >> > Adam Meadows wrote:
> >> > > How do we help these people?  
>  
> >> > Drugs clearly aren't the only reason why those people are
> >> > there on that island, but it's a big enough part of the
> >> > puzzle to convince me that drug abuse issues don't just
> >> > go away if the drugs abused are legal (i.e.- the death
> >> > of Randy, the wheelchair-bound alcoholic).
>  
> >> Although alcohol addiction is more likely to lead to death than chronic
> >> marijuana use or an opiate addiction in which the supply is of a known
> >> dosage and purity.
> >
> >If those homeless people had used their filthy syringes
> 
> 
> Why would they be using filthy syringes if they didn't have to?


Who is forcing them to use dirty syringes?  These people are not
rational; they are often profoundly mentally ill.  You would have to
monitor their every injection to make sure they never used a dirty
syringe do to their lack of motivation/money.  Needle exchange
programs do help deter the spread of blood born diseases, but they are
not perfect and dirty needles do get used even in the most liberal
systems.  Also, an offsetting disadvantage of such programs is that
they lower the incentive for the heroin user to stay sober by removing
a deterement of use.

I wish I knew what the solution was.  

Adam