Should a drug addict be given a regular fix by the NHS?

[Ianto.W.]

There are other ways of treating drug addicts, giving them access to an unlimitted supply of the drugs is not the answer, if they can not access them through the 'normal' channels they will have to seek treatment, only then can you try to deal with the problem they have to want to be 'cured', giving drugs FOC will only make matters worse.

[cashman]

how about lock em up and get em off it that way, and spend time helping the victims of these people i.e. their familes amongst others. cold turkey would save the NHS money rather than pandering to em.

[grannyclaret]

Amongst a lot of other things my hubby is a diabetic ,,he has two injections of insulin every day .
He never complains but i know he would prefer not to have the shots,, it makes you wonder how people can jab themselves by choice

[entwisi]

One regular comment seems to be that you don't want to pay for it.

What you seem to be missing is that we already pay for more than it would cost thus freeing up resources(both financial and nurses/police time). The NHS has to treat the results of their addiction be it them OD'ing, the injuries to people mugged and the support and care of elderly people who struggle to cope after break ins etc.

The cost of policing both the crime that occurs to pay for the drug and the supply chain itself from suppliers in Afganistan to the street level pushers is tremendous. The manpower involved is enormous.

Lets stop looking so introspectively and see what really matters in life, the protection and care of the law abiding majority. TBH I don't care too much whether the addicts choose to OD or take up the rehab as long as it makes teh streets safer, the nurses and poplice have more time and money to tackle other more important issues such as the supply of herceptin etc, tackling antisocial behaviour and making life generally better for the vast majority of us

[entwisi]

Originally Posted by Ianto.W.

There are other ways of treating drug addicts, giving them access to an unlimitted supply of the drugs is not the answer, if they can not access them through the 'normal' channels they will have to seek treatment, only then can you try to deal with the problem they have to want to be 'cured', giving drugs FOC will only make matters worse.

We aren't talking of unlimited supply here anyway that would kill them and remove teh problem wouldn't it? We have suffered illegal supply of drugs since well before Queen Victoria and have never stopped it yet, what makes anyone think we will ever stop it using the methods we are currently? I don't see it working and obviously teh number of addicts proves that we can't stop it. lets stop burying our heads in the sand safe in teh knowledge we are doing something. that something doesn't work, we need a new answer.

Originally Posted by cashman

how about lock em up and get em off it that way, and spend time helping the victims of these people i.e. their familes amongst others. cold turkey would save the NHS money rather than pandering to em.

You may 'get them off' cold turkey and teh minute you release them they will be back to their old habit, what use is that to anyone. You wouldn't save a penny of NHS money.

[WillowTheWhisp]

I've had another thought - what if they don't get enough of a kick out of the freebie from the NHS and still resort to crime to cover the extra they want to buy from the pushers?

[entwisi]

Go back and ask for some more??? why pay when its free somewhere else.

[harwood red]

completely agree with all your comments entwisi.... its the whole picture we need to look at not just the users!!

[WillowTheWhisp]

Originally Posted by entwisi

Go back and ask for some more??? why pay when its free somewhere else.

So are they proposing a limitless supply?

I have more sympathy for the idea of methadone for those who are trying to get off the drugs than heroine to keep addicts in the manner to which they have become accustomed. It just seems morally wrong to offer a limitless supply of free drugs to addicts when cancer patients are dying because the NHS can't afford to treat them.

I lost a close family member because of financial lmitations in the NHS and my Dad had to pay all his life for medication just to keep him alive each day so he could go to work and pay more taxes and NI contributions, so it feels like adding insult to injury to be giving freebies to drug addicts. So much easier then to become an addict if you're not going to have to worry about how to afford the drugs.

[entwisi]

But Willow, I'm trying to get across that this process would be so much cheaper than the current process that people WOULD get the drugs/treatment that you describe as the NHS would then be able to afford them.

People don't go out to become addicts, as per previous posts. I can't answer for sure but I bet a lot of it is the "I can handle it", "I'm a rebel", "look at me I'm hard" type things that start it and then chemical dependancy takes over.

Be honest, if it was free would you take it? Nope, neither would I, neither would the vast majority of people. Keeping them in a manner they have become accustomed? Nope it wouldn't be that either. We need to keep them under control untill they want to come off it, then rehab them. there is no point in trying to force them off as they will just return to it as soon as there is an opportunity.

As I have said, we have been in teh same process of trying to stop supply and locking the users up for hundreds of years and haven't made teh slightest progress, it isn't working, why carry on blindly, A new solution is needed, it may work, it may not(although as you can tell I believe it has more chance) but I'd rather try than keep going with something we know doesn't work

[Mancie]

It’s all cloud cuckoo land stuff.. there is no way this proposal would be endorsed by any political party. In reality we are seeing more laws to restrict and maybe in the not to distant future even ban tobacco use. Does anyone really think heroin will be supplied to users on the NHS, and therefore be made legal? I'm stupid enough to use tobacco myself so why not give me and others, lets say 100 Bensons a week!

There is this a sort of myth being banded about that heroin addicts must go out doing burglaries every night to feed their £1000 a week habit...around 40% of heroin addicts hold down regular jobs and even with a high addiction would really spend £150 to £250 per week on the drug, of course its alot of money.

The majority of the rest who are not employed do get there income by criminal activity which is mostly street prostitution including pimps, the addicts who are shoplifters and burglars are in prison most months of the year.

To give free heroin to addicts would be useless in terms of cutting crime.. the ones employed would simply use the service and buy extra from the streets, the criminal addicts would do the same.

[Stanaccy]

Originally Posted by WillowTheWhisp

I have more sympathy for the idea of methadone for those who are trying to get off the drugs than heroine to keep addicts in the manner to which they have become accustomed. .

Willow methadone is far more addictive than heroin which is why it so many revert to heroin during the program.

Entwisi is right it is better to take the market away from the dealers rather than try and take the dealers away from the market, as soon as one scumbag is banged up for supplying there is a queue to take its place. Why not try something radical and see how it goes, you never know it might just work. (One of the first Raving Monster Loony Party's policies was to lower the voting age to 16!! and who would have thought 35 years ago it would be illegal to sack a pregnant woman!!)

[WillowTheWhisp]

So if methadone is more addictive than heroine why do they give it to people who want to get off drugs? Now I'm really confused.

[panther]

Just get all the losers lock em up and let em go cold turkey, that way they will think twice taking them again!

[WillowTheWhisp]

That's not allowed Panther. They sue the government then for upsetting their human rights.