I find the most tragic picture of all of these is the one of the syringe next to the baby's Pooh Bear sock. what kind of care is that child getting and what will they learn as thew grow older?
tammy!!!i can't say thank you enough for keeping this in the forefront!!!why...and i mean WHY can't one freaking govt official at ANY level step up and say enough!!!???
this province is made up of old people who "think the last guy was pretty good-so i'll vote for him /her again"..."
THAT IS OUR PROBLEM!!!keep voting for people who tow party line= no action!!!!!!start with the bottem up!!sask health care crew..sask unions,sask mla's, sask mp's...and step up ABOVE the old folks...we want to be the NEW SASK?ACT IT!!! tammy is just starting our new look on life!!!
Firstly, I agree with how this situation is bad, but I can not understand your rant..... I do know who you are blaming or who you are requesting to fix this.
... and is this proof that our 'needle exchange' is working??? I thought the whole meaning of 'exchange' was to bring in the old to get a new one - I hate this about our city!! I believe that if people did NOT have access to a needle exchange there would be a LOT less of this crap around! Yeah - I know - a safer way for them to shoot up - a safer way for them to protect themselves from diseases - WELL WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF THE WORLD??? Obviously they don't give a rats ass about the kids who may be at play .. or the people going for a walk - or the dogs on leashes... or any other living being... ooooooh this pisses me off!!!!
I find it ironic that these pictures get posted just after the announcement that HIV rates have spiked in Saskatoon. I guess handing out all these free needles is helping prevent the spread of HIV...NOT! Or maybe the spike in HIV numbers comes from the people that have been pricked trying to clean up all these used needles.
Seriously...what has become of our society? A needle exchange program is someone's sick idea of solving a problem but creates more problems than it solves.
1. It makes drug use easier.
2. It makes drug use an acceptable part of our everyday lives. (yes you too can play with your kids in the park while the junkie shoots up and throws the needle to the ground right next to you.
3. It keeps those drug users super healthy (who are you kidding)with their new needles while the rest of us suffer while they leave them all over the place.
How to solve this? A heavy police hand on the drug industry. Let's stop the free needle exchange and spend the money on policing and prevention/dryout programs. People found guilty of drug use (any drug use) must go to a mandatory military style dryout center (not going is not an option and skipping out won't be an option). For people who are caught selling drugs, lets bring back the death penalty..crude it is, but obviously throwing these scumbags into prison for a time isn't doing the taxpayer or our youth any favors.
No I'm not interested in another useless study that tells us to hold hands, hug, and hope that the drug user quits when they feel like it. Meanwhile the drug sales continue. Time for society to demand change.
If society doesn't start dealing with this...eventually we'll have shoot up rooms in our schools, so instead of time out we can send our kids to the shoot up room..because we wouldn't want to offend little Johnny or Jill. I'm tired of society trying to deal with drug use by making it seem OK. IT ISN'T OK. AND WE NEED TO FIX THIS.
On April 12th, 2010 Not-So-Anonymous (not verified) says:
Some ok comments for sure. First, a quick question... Tammy, you of course called the fire dept to pick these up, right?
Ok, back to the issue. I see some comments about tossing the book at the users / dealers or anyone that has a hand it the business. I agree, however, all that ends up happening is that the lawyer's make money from the public purse to defend them, the prosecutor uses public money to send them away so the Gov't can use public money to babysit them for years... there has to be a better way. We've seen how well the 'war on drugs' has worked in the US.
The needle exchange is just a band-aid solution to the intravenous drug problem, just like sticking gum in the leaking dam, it will slow it, but wont stop
it. I believe the exchange needs to be MUCH more accountable for the needles it hands out. A few years ago it was hand in some, get allot more in return, very rarely was it one for one. I hope that has changed. Is the NE the best system, not by far, however, to slow the spread of HIV / Hep C and other diseases it does help, but it need's to be managed much better. ( That does NOT mean hiring 5 new administrators!! ) Talk to the people who are running it at the street level, they'll tell you what they need to do their job better, just give them the tools. I don't really think ALL the needles you see on the street are from the NE, this was a problem before the NE program was started as well.
These drugs are with us forever, I don't see anyway of wiping them off the streets of Saskatoon permanently. So what are our options? NE is one, getting to the young people in this town before the dealers and gang leaders do is another. I find it very strange that the City of Saskatoon closes ALL it's library location's on summer Sunday's and all holidays. Would this not be a place for kids / youth / families to go when they have a day off?? With all the money spent on silly things in this town, we should be able to open some building's when the people are free to use them.
Instead of ranting about what one Gov't has or has not done, lets come up with some solutions that we can use to try and tackle this and other problems of our fair city. Will all of the ideas work, nope ... but we won't know until we try. To just sit back and bitch does not really help anyone but yourself.
Is it even the Gov't job to fix this? Did they import / make / deliver / tax the drugs? An opportunist did that, saw it and took it (legal or not).
The Gov't spends a s*** load of money for anti-smoking / gambling because they make a s*** load of money from these vices. Not much into prevention of drug use, because there is no money in it. What's the cost to the system for one intravenous drug user over their lifetime? What's the cost of one person in jail for a few years? What's the cost of prevention by opening some buildings ( that are already heated / cooled and are empty) and hiring some staff (Library's, school gyms, ect) ?
Get the ideas flowing my fellow Saskatoonions!! Lets start fixing the problem. Cutting the top of the weed does not get rid of the problem, it does show us the way to the root.
I found some needles in my front yard and wasnt' sure what to do. I phoned the fire department and they told me to pick them up with something, and put them in a container with a lid and throw them in the garbage. they also told me if i didn't feel comfortable doing this they would come out. I had no problem doing this, but i can see why some wouldn't. my only question is why do they send out a whole fire truck to do this? wouldn't a small vehicle be capable of this? What if there was a fire and the fire trucks are out because of needles? just another way the needle exchange (and of course junkies) is causing problems.
Needles and syringes, once exposed to the elements, pose little threat for injury. I know there is a lot of hype, perpetuated by many journalists and public, but from a health perspective, there has never been transmission of HIV or Hepatitis C from a needle injury in the community in Saskatchewan. It is good to educate yourself on how to pick up biohazars waste, and all garbage for that matter. Having big, strong, firefighters with trucks and equipment come out to pick up needles/syringes is a big waste of taxpayers money and takes them away from other important activities. Pick the needle up from the non-pointy end, put it in a strong plastic bottle, with a lid, and toss it in the gargabe bin. And if there is other garbage around, sharp or not, wear gloves, and get rid of that stuff too.
Well, if you de-criminalized what are currently illicit drugs, people would be able to have access to safer forms of these addictive substances and would cut gangs, dealers, and pushers out of the picture. Let’s remember that cocaine, opium, and heroin used to be legal, and liquor used to be illegal. There was too much crime and bootlegging with liquor so the government of the day legalized booze. Tobacco is also a legal drug, and if you consider that tobacco related deaths in Saskatchewan are equal to four people per day, it makes you wonder which drugs are more harmful?
Comments
I find the most tragic
I find the most tragic picture of all of these is the one of the syringe next to the baby's Pooh Bear sock. what kind of care is that child getting and what will they learn as thew grow older?
tammy!!!i can't say thank
tammy!!!i can't say thank you enough for keeping this in the forefront!!!why...and i mean WHY can't one freaking govt official at ANY level step up and say enough!!!???
this province is made up of old people who "think the last guy was pretty good-so i'll vote for him /her again"..."
THAT IS OUR PROBLEM!!!keep voting for people who tow party line= no action!!!!!!start with the bottem up!!sask health care crew..sask unions,sask mla's, sask mp's...and step up ABOVE the old folks...we want to be the NEW SASK?ACT IT!!! tammy is just starting our new look on life!!!
Rant
Firstly, I agree with how this situation is bad, but I can not understand your rant..... I do know who you are blaming or who you are requesting to fix this.
Wow - Needle Clean Up
... and is this proof that our 'needle exchange' is working??? I thought the whole meaning of 'exchange' was to bring in the old to get a new one - I hate this about our city!! I believe that if people did NOT have access to a needle exchange there would be a LOT less of this crap around! Yeah - I know - a safer way for them to shoot up - a safer way for them to protect themselves from diseases - WELL WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF THE WORLD??? Obviously they don't give a rats ass about the kids who may be at play .. or the people going for a walk - or the dogs on leashes... or any other living being... ooooooh this pisses me off!!!!
Ironic
I find it ironic that these pictures get posted just after the announcement that HIV rates have spiked in Saskatoon. I guess handing out all these free needles is helping prevent the spread of HIV...NOT! Or maybe the spike in HIV numbers comes from the people that have been pricked trying to clean up all these used needles.
this is sick
Seriously...what has become of our society? A needle exchange program is someone's sick idea of solving a problem but creates more problems than it solves.
1. It makes drug use easier.
2. It makes drug use an acceptable part of our everyday lives. (yes you too can play with your kids in the park while the junkie shoots up and throws the needle to the ground right next to you.
3. It keeps those drug users super healthy (who are you kidding)with their new needles while the rest of us suffer while they leave them all over the place.
How to solve this? A heavy police hand on the drug industry. Let's stop the free needle exchange and spend the money on policing and prevention/dryout programs. People found guilty of drug use (any drug use) must go to a mandatory military style dryout center (not going is not an option and skipping out won't be an option). For people who are caught selling drugs, lets bring back the death penalty..crude it is, but obviously throwing these scumbags into prison for a time isn't doing the taxpayer or our youth any favors.
No I'm not interested in another useless study that tells us to hold hands, hug, and hope that the drug user quits when they feel like it. Meanwhile the drug sales continue. Time for society to demand change.
If society doesn't start dealing with this...eventually we'll have shoot up rooms in our schools, so instead of time out we can send our kids to the shoot up room..because we wouldn't want to offend little Johnny or Jill. I'm tired of society trying to deal with drug use by making it seem OK. IT ISN'T OK. AND WE NEED TO FIX THIS.
My 2 cents
Some ok comments for sure. First, a quick question... Tammy, you of course called the fire dept to pick these up, right?
Ok, back to the issue. I see some comments about tossing the book at the users / dealers or anyone that has a hand it the business. I agree, however, all that ends up happening is that the lawyer's make money from the public purse to defend them, the prosecutor uses public money to send them away so the Gov't can use public money to babysit them for years... there has to be a better way. We've seen how well the 'war on drugs' has worked in the US.
The needle exchange is just a band-aid solution to the intravenous drug problem, just like sticking gum in the leaking dam, it will slow it, but wont stop
it. I believe the exchange needs to be MUCH more accountable for the needles it hands out. A few years ago it was hand in some, get allot more in return, very rarely was it one for one. I hope that has changed. Is the NE the best system, not by far, however, to slow the spread of HIV / Hep C and other diseases it does help, but it need's to be managed much better. ( That does NOT mean hiring 5 new administrators!! ) Talk to the people who are running it at the street level, they'll tell you what they need to do their job better, just give them the tools. I don't really think ALL the needles you see on the street are from the NE, this was a problem before the NE program was started as well.
These drugs are with us forever, I don't see anyway of wiping them off the streets of Saskatoon permanently. So what are our options? NE is one, getting to the young people in this town before the dealers and gang leaders do is another. I find it very strange that the City of Saskatoon closes ALL it's library location's on summer Sunday's and all holidays. Would this not be a place for kids / youth / families to go when they have a day off?? With all the money spent on silly things in this town, we should be able to open some building's when the people are free to use them.
Instead of ranting about what one Gov't has or has not done, lets come up with some solutions that we can use to try and tackle this and other problems of our fair city. Will all of the ideas work, nope ... but we won't know until we try. To just sit back and bitch does not really help anyone but yourself.
Is it even the Gov't job to fix this? Did they import / make / deliver / tax the drugs? An opportunist did that, saw it and took it (legal or not).
The Gov't spends a s*** load of money for anti-smoking / gambling because they make a s*** load of money from these vices. Not much into prevention of drug use, because there is no money in it. What's the cost to the system for one intravenous drug user over their lifetime? What's the cost of one person in jail for a few years? What's the cost of prevention by opening some buildings ( that are already heated / cooled and are empty) and hiring some staff (Library's, school gyms, ect) ?
Get the ideas flowing my fellow Saskatoonions!! Lets start fixing the problem. Cutting the top of the weed does not get rid of the problem, it does show us the way to the root.
waste of fire truck use.
I found some needles in my front yard and wasnt' sure what to do. I phoned the fire department and they told me to pick them up with something, and put them in a container with a lid and throw them in the garbage. they also told me if i didn't feel comfortable doing this they would come out. I had no problem doing this, but i can see why some wouldn't. my only question is why do they send out a whole fire truck to do this? wouldn't a small vehicle be capable of this? What if there was a fire and the fire trucks are out because of needles? just another way the needle exchange (and of course junkies) is causing problems.
A waste of time
Needles and syringes, once exposed to the elements, pose little threat for injury. I know there is a lot of hype, perpetuated by many journalists and public, but from a health perspective, there has never been transmission of HIV or Hepatitis C from a needle injury in the community in Saskatchewan. It is good to educate yourself on how to pick up biohazars waste, and all garbage for that matter. Having big, strong, firefighters with trucks and equipment come out to pick up needles/syringes is a big waste of taxpayers money and takes them away from other important activities. Pick the needle up from the non-pointy end, put it in a strong plastic bottle, with a lid, and toss it in the gargabe bin. And if there is other garbage around, sharp or not, wear gloves, and get rid of that stuff too.
Needles
It is interesting that cities with needle exchange programs have higher rates of property crime to finance drug habits. Shame really.
Well
Well, if you de-criminalized what are currently illicit drugs, people would be able to have access to safer forms of these addictive substances and would cut gangs, dealers, and pushers out of the picture. Let’s remember that cocaine, opium, and heroin used to be legal, and liquor used to be illegal. There was too much crime and bootlegging with liquor so the government of the day legalized booze. Tobacco is also a legal drug, and if you consider that tobacco related deaths in Saskatchewan are equal to four people per day, it makes you wonder which drugs are more harmful?