# The Needle Trauma



## Barf (Jul 24, 2019)

*Note to mods* I did use the search engine. Not sure if it belongs in general banter, or the health section.

I stumbled upon this article and thought some fellow members would find it an interesting read. 

I consider myself to be "recovering", but that doesn't keep me from day dreaming in a field of poppies.

Enjoy

https://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/extern...w1ZJnQ5VN36OmaOYSOvfTBNGHHrwBQ6E-jMrbwcO-UgcY


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## Deleted member 23824 (Jul 24, 2019)

I read that. It’s not really in me to thank you for posting the link, because to me, it’s a scene from ahorror film. But it is educational.

More close to (my) home:
Recently, one -I repeat one - member of a nearby community which has a fabulous park with a restored wooden covered bridge, nice play equipment that I used to take my kids to weekly (now, grandkids) access to local stables where I would also take kids/grandkids - decided to invite, unbeknownst to the rest of the community, a local needle exchange group to make that park an official spot for a sanctioned needle exchange. Still not sure how she was able to almost sneak that by . After that,the obscure , required announcement was made, and our once per week newspaper was astute enough to pick up on it.

That group was ran out on a rail by the outraged community and so they tucked their tails and ran, bruised and battered perhaps, but if history is true to form, they’ll try the same shit again eventually. The one instigating community member is now laying low, anathema to the rest of us.

In this instance, and in other examples, it seems such groups feel that locations in unincorporated parts of the county (read: not much of a government) can be more easily ramrodded, having no one who officially speaks for them. All four small towns within our valley have no governing body excepting county supervisors, so they thought they might just succeed in pulling a fast one.

They were wrong. There was an outpouring , united in it’s opposition to placing drug addicts in close proximity to families with small children, Nearly every family in this valley with small children over the last 25 years, has spent time in that park with their kids . It is beloved by our community. To be sure, there’s a small but consistent number of homeless and addicts there, has been for years. They mostly seem to police themselves, by keeping their distance from the play areas, preferring to stay more or less invisible, by moving to the fringes as more families begin arriving. I have only ever seen a couple bad scenes in all these years.

That would have all changed, they’d have become more brazen and aggressive once they had the sanction of the governmental/quasi-governmental organizations involved. Families would have most certainly fled the scene, and, therefore, lost use of a park that was designed for them. I am so happy they failed.

I cannot offer solutions to the problem, but also am not willing to give up a good thing for the many families who have had use of that cherished park because of someone else's ill thought out idea.

Anyone care to spew hate now?


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## roguetrader (Jul 24, 2019)

these days in Switzerland if one is over 21, has been addicted for 3 + years, and surrenders his / her driving license they can get legally prescribed diamorphine 3 times a day and safely inject in a supervised shooting gallery ! yet the number of addicts drops year on year... same in Holland - a liberal drugs policy has some how led to less hard drug users ! BUT in America, a country with harsh penalties hard drug use increases year on year...

to anyone interested in this subject I recommend 'Chasing The Scream' by Johann Hari - an excellent book detailing the origin of the War On Drugs and why it just ain't working...


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## Minky (Jul 24, 2019)

roguetrader said:


> these days in Switzerland if one is over 21, has been addicted for 3 + years, and surrenders his / her driving license they can get legally proscribed diamorphine 3 times a day and safety inject in a supervised shooting gallery ! yet the number of addicts drops year on year... same in Holland - a liberal drugs policy has some how led to less hard drug users ! BUT in America, a country with harsh penalties hard drug use increases year on year...
> 
> to anyone interested in this issue I recommend 'Chasing The Scream' by Johann Hari - an excellent book detailing the origin of the War On Drugs and why it just ain't working...


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## Minky (Jul 24, 2019)

Interesting subject!


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## roughdraft (Jul 25, 2019)

Faceplant said:


> I read that. It’s not really in me to thank you for posting the link, because to me, it’s a scene from ahorror film. But it is educational.
> 
> More close to (my) home:
> Recently, one -I repeat one - member of a nearby community which has a fabulous park with a restored wooden covered bridge, nice play equipment that I used to take my kids to weekly (now, grandkids) access to local stables where I would also take kids/grandkids - decided to invite, unbeknownst to the rest of the community, a local needle exchange group to make that park an official spot for a sanctioned needle exchange. Still not sure how she was able to almost sneak that by . After that,the obscure , required announcement was made, and our once per week newspaper was astute enough to pick up on it.
> ...



i always imagined this sort of thing going on in like, a room with no windows, not a damn picnic pavilion or on the swingset

is there something im missing here or is California really that fucked up?


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## Deleted member 23824 (Jul 25, 2019)

roughdraft said:


> i always imagined this sort of thing going on in like, a room with no windows, not a damn picnic pavilion or on the swingset
> 
> is there something im missing here or is California really that fucked up?



I love where I live, don’t get me wrong. Having grown up in Ohio in the 60’s, 70’s, however, from age 13 on, I knew I was going where there were mountains and trees, not corn and soybean fields. Saved money for one year after H.S. graduation, and split.

But to answer your question, Yes, in many ways Cali is fucked up, the above being a prime example. I’m still not leaving, though, my kids and grandkids are, and will remain here, nothing in the world trumps them in importance. Not traveling, which I get to do enough to satisfy my needs, or all the money in the world. Got my humble cabin in a small mountain town, what more does a person need?


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## roughdraft (Jul 25, 2019)

Faceplant said:


> I love where I live, don’t get me wrong. Having grown up in Ohio in the 60’s, 70’s, however, from age 13 on, I knew I was going where there were mountains and trees, not corn and soybean fields. Saved money for one year after H.S. graduation, and split.
> 
> But to answer your question, Yes, in many ways Cali is fucked up, the above being a prime example. I’m still not leaving, though, my kids and grandkids are, and will remain here, nothing in the world trumps them in importance. Not traveling, which I get to do enough to satisfy my needs, or all the money in the world. Got my humble cabin in a small mountain town, what more does a person need?



totally agree, very well put.

But for real, needle exchange in a park, man it sounds like blurring the edges of satire and real life - but of course we are witnesses to this in so many regards, aren't we? And even more certainly it is not exclusive to California, or the USA. Easy to poke fun and be tongue-in-cheek, but I do imagine to stay there for a long time is generally much nicer than Ohio, or where I am from, Maryland


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## Deleted member 23824 (Jul 25, 2019)

roughdraft said:


> totally agree, very well put.
> 
> But for real, needle exchange in a park, man it sounds like blurring the edges of satire and real life - but of course we are witnesses to this in so many regards, aren't we? And even more certainly it is not exclusive to California, or the USA. Easy to poke fun and be tongue-in-cheek, but I do imagine to stay there for a long time is generally much nicer than Ohio, or where I am from, Maryland


Well, not to jam up this guys thread any more, but one of the parks in Santa Cruz we loved taking our kids to, is no longer available to take our Grandkids to. Oh, we tried, but when we encouraged our then 4 and two year old grandsons to check out the concrete tunnel within the giant sandbox area, telling them “your mama played there when she was little”, a homebum rolled out of the tunnel. We left after we found needles in the sand box. We found other parks where LEO doesn’t look the other way, and allow them to be appropriated.


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## roughdraft (Jul 25, 2019)

god damn thats fucked, needles in the sandbox, and the damn cowardly police


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## Barf (Jul 25, 2019)

@Faceplant 

No problem man. I have a one year old son. All the exchanges I've ever been to haven't been anywhere near children. It never even crossed my mind until you mentioned it(NXs where there is a presence of children). I wouldnt be cool with that either.


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## Deleted member 125 (Jul 25, 2019)

Barf said:


> @Faceplant
> 
> No problem man. I have a one year old son. All the exchanges I've ever been to haven't been anywhere near children. It never even crossed my mind until you mentioned it(NXs where there is a presence of children). I wouldnt be cool with that either.



Addiction is a fucking awful thing, and I 100% agree giving away clean needles at a park where kids play isn't a good idea at all, but it seems like maybe people are forgetting that people who use needles are people too. Would I be stoked if some random person tried to help people by giving them needles where my kid played? Nope, but I would be more pissed off at my local/state/country that isn't giving people access to resources that help people stop shooting up. Giving out clean needles is a positive thing but it ain't a solution or even a bandaid on the bigger problem.


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## Deleted member 23824 (Jul 25, 2019)

SlankyLanky said:


> Addiction is a fucking awful thing, and I 100% agree giving away clean needles at a park where kids play isn't a good idea at all, but it seems like maybe people are forgetting that people who use needles are people too. Would I be stoked if some random person tried to help people by giving them needles where my kid played? Nope, but I would be more pissed off at my local/state/country that isn't giving people access to resources that help people stop shooting up. Giving out clean needles is a positive thing but it ain't a solution or even a bandaid on the bigger problem.


I ‘ve no problem with needle exchange, either. There are other locations that have been around for years. And yes, as the problem grows, I do understand the need of our little valley, which has its share of addicts, to have a program, as our local population of addicts often cannot make it the 8 miles to use another location. It will be difficult to find a willing location, but a park used by many children and their caregivers, should never have been on the table for consideration, in my opinion.


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