This is pretty messed up: A NARCAN drive in my town

[Clockworkmike]

Disclaimer: Out of respect for the workers and addicts who are at the present sites, i didnt film any of the following but take my word on good faith

Today, i was driving to the store and passed by my parent's house along the way after seeing my mom standing outside talking to a neighbor. She was holding this little box and i asked " What's that?" She replied " Oh, NARCAN ( the drug to resuscitate overdose victims, typically from opioids)". Now foremost, neither of my parents are now nor have ever been drug addicts ( I'm sure like most, they experimented in the 1970s but nothing as long as I've been alive), so naturally I asked " Why the hell do you have that ?!?" And my mom proceeded to tell me that all over Oak Hill ( roughly 6,000) and Fayette County ( roughly 42,000) that the Health Board had designated today as a drive to give out as much NARCAN as humanly possible because if not, they'd lose upcoming funding from the DHHR and DHS. While her and my dad were stopped at a local hotdog stand, 2 workers approached them and said " Here please take this for someone you know" while handing them the NARCAN packs.

So in my tiny little town, along Main Street, there are multiple tent sites set up with folks outside in "SAVE A LIFE" Tshirts that are waving signs saying "NARCAN!!!" Like you'd see passing a youth team doing a carwash. They literally will approach your vehicle amd toss it to any passerby. That now explains better just how bad drugs are in my area.

Ive often said, that despite out tiny size, WV leads the nation in opioid addiction and deaths. That is very much true, especially if you based our addicts per population. If we were 100,000+, it would look like something out of an apocalyptic movie. That is a sad statement

 

[Ghostman]

The Billion $ lawsuit against the Pharmaceutical companies was the first step in the right direction. I honestly don't know what the perfect solution would be, but I'm all for helping people.

 

[Clockworkmike]

The Billion $ lawsuit against the Pharmaceutical companies was the first step in the right direction. I honestly don't know what the perfect solution would be, but I'm all for helping people.

Agree completely! Our state attorney general worked a lot with Cardinal Pharmaceuticals in litigation, who helped spurn on a LOT of the opioids here, so how can you fix something like that when even the top brass are in cahoots?

I dont want to see anyone strung out and ruining their own lives, let alone their kids thru neglect for the drug. I welcome anything that could help but like you: no idea what that is really.

Something like the Netherlands does, would be to take arrested drug addicts and instead of jailing them: offering them government treatment. I know that might seem barbaric to a degree but if it could stop someone from using, maybe mandatory treatment/hospitalization might be a viable option. Id rather see taxes going to trying to rehab someone than jailing them, knowing that they will still easily get access to the drugs inside but now ruin their lives even further

 

[BFT Gibson]

Just got back together our band from before the accident. Heavy recovery based events & a lotta positive outreach to many non proffit org's. Am all for helping whoever & whenever & however

 

[chilipeppermaniac]

I won't speak one positive word about drug addicts or saving a life of one especially since the 2 that lived 2 doors down from my house has ruined a good portion of my life as a result of them burglarizing me 2-3 times to fund their sorry existence on this good earth. This does not even account for the 2-3 bastards responsible for stealing my 1st dirtbike I dreamed of owning and worked so hard to earn the money to purchase, only to have it taken from me after 5 days of bringing it home back when I was 15.

I am sorry, but out of these 4-5 criminals, I am actually glad that 2 have taken their last breath both years ago and just about a month or so ago. Good riddance.

PS. Had I been able to handle the matters myself without fear of the death penalty for myself, there would be one additional life from my neighbor's house pushing up daisies to join his father.

 

[Ghostman]

I won't speak one positive word about drug addicts or saving a life of one especially since the 2 that lived 2 doors down from my house has ruined a good portion of my life as a result of them burglarizing me 2-3 times to fund their sorry existence on this good earth. This does not even account for the 2-3 bastards responsible for stealing my 1st dirtbike I dreamed of owning and worked so hard to earn the money to purchase, only to have it taken from me after 5 days of bringing it home back when I was 15.

I am sorry, but out of these 4-5 criminals, I am actually glad that 2 have taken their last breath both years ago and just about a month or so ago. Good riddance.

PS. Had I been able to handle the matters myself without fear of the death penalty for myself, there would be one additional life from my neighbor's house pushing up daisies to join his father.

sucks to be in that situation. On the other hand, I've always had a very dark thought of, if drugs were legal, how many of them would OD and solve the immediate problem.

 

[Clockworkmike]

I won't speak one positive word about drug addicts or saving a life of one especially since the 2 that lived 2 doors down from my house has ruined a good portion of my life as a result of them burglarizing me 2-3 times to fund their sorry existence on this good earth. This does not even account for the 2-3 bastards responsible for stealing my 1st dirtbike I dreamed of owning and worked so hard to earn the money to purchase, only to have it taken from me after 5 days of bringing it home back when I was 15.

I am sorry, but out of these 4-5 criminals, I am actually glad that 2 have taken their last breath both years ago and just about a month or so ago. Good riddance.

PS. Had I been able to handle the matters myself without fear of the death penalty for myself, there would be one additional life from my neighbor's house pushing up daisies to join his father.

I lost an aunt in 2007 due to opioid addiction and an uncle in 2010 due to alcohol and opioids. Neither were criminals and only hurt themselves physically, minus the emotional damage left upon the rest of us seeing them suffer and ultimately lose the battle. Unfortunately, my grandfather became a functioning opioid addict in his last year of living with mesothelioma, due to dealing with chronic pain from both lung and spinal cancer.

While I largely look on in anger at some addicts who carelessly and selfishly destroy others around them, like the meth heads next door ( thats another story), i know not every one of them are bad people, just making bad choices.

 

[chilipeppermaniac]

Mike, you are right about the bad choices addict vs the criminal ones.

I have known much death both through natural causes and through self inflicted means. Like you said, it is one thing for a human to cause their own harm, but when drugs or other selfish reasons lead to actions that cause mental, physical and/or losses of property, it is the irreparable damage of invasions, that leave the victim scarred in ways they must wrestle with long after the evil deeds are done.

With the perps still walking free after committing the crimes, getting detained, some time spent incarcerated, and early release, all hope of returning to 99% comfortable to be @ home will never be restored while living a 150 feet from their front door. To me, the justice system failed the victim (me) miserably. Oh and as mentioned, the one perp is no more,,,,,,,,,,,,, thanks to his career in crime and on drugs, he paid the final price for it. I guess the Heroin/Fentanyl's pull was too strong for his own good. Sadly, I still have to always be concerned his 20 ish year old son may still fall into additional crimes after his choice to rob me a few years after dear dad did. I hold little hope for lessons learned despite him witnessing the final cost and seeing his dad in a casket.