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A 50 Year
Answer?
By Mona Lease
Hi, all! The following has been floating around in my mind for a while
now. So - I'm going to submit this to you for your mental mastication -
or - another of my "something to think on a spell" columns. Mastication
means to chew. It is the first step in the digestion process and allows
more efficient breakdown of food by the enzymes. This is accomplished
by thorough chewing - mastication - which produces more surface area of
the food. Bon Apetit, ya'll!
In the case of needle exchange programs - According to the
Courier-Journal; Louisville, Kentucky is implementing a needle exchange
program - six days a week. This is to be largely funded by
metro-government...that's Louisville or "us taxpayers." The cost now is
$224,900 a year. Half of Kentucky's 9,300 known HIV cases are
Louisville residents. And 15% of the state total is attributed to iv
drug use. Kentucky has the highest hepatitis C infection rate in the
nation. They are supposed to be connecting addicts to treatment and
disease prevention clinics/therapists. Indiana has adopted the needle
exchange program.
New York reports that not requiring a "needle for a needle" exchange is
considered a best practice method because it reduces barriers to using
the program. (This means you may just go get another needle. Yes,
you might have to listen to someone tell you where to go get help. In
my mind, you do not even have to be responsible for the old needle!).
New York staff are trained in the appropriate use of Naloxone - a drug
to reverse the effects of an overdose. I'll interject here: What
happens or has happened to personal accountability? Probable scenario:
Two people sitting around "high." One wants to get a little bit
"higher." (Kinda like alcohol - one more drink to get you happier,
calmer, or "there."). The question arises as to how much might be too
much. Knowing that drugs, alcohol, etc distort time and perception -
one just might say to the other one that the police carry the
"antidote" - so go ahead - shoot for the thrill! Sorry I had to give
you that pun. Seriously, though - where the doubt of "how much is too
much" should have deterred more use - it was erased by a future phone
call to the police and the "antidote." I hope the "responders" are not
busy with others who bet on the same "antidote." Add to this - In
2014, the cost of providing Hepatitis C treatment was $84,000 per
person. Add to this - In New York and Louisville, Kentucky - people are
allowed to carry needles. You just have to inform the police of the
needle before they search you. WHAT?!
Kalauopapa, Hawaii is a leper colony from the 1960's. Called leprosy -
it was renamed Hansen's Disease - by the way. This makes me wonder if
this is the answer. New York reports that they got their IV/HIV number
down to 11% new cases...which sounds good - until it is your child,
grandchild, spouse, etc. When the last person dies at the leper colony,
the Federal Government wants to open the peninsula to tourism. Which
night not be a bad idea, I think. My niece toured a gas chamber when
she was an exchange student in Germany. She took pictures and sent them
home. It is pretty "in your face" stuff.
I was invited to a 50th Wedding Anniversary party last Saturday. I
spoke briefly with the bride. I asked if she had any words of "wisdom"
for us. She laughed and told me she could have "thrown in the towel" at
any time. Now, I do not know if they keep saying "I love you" through
everything or - maybe they kept a goal in the front of their mind - in
this case a Golden Wedding Anniversary. They obviously wanted to keep
the family together. Maybe if the police hand out cards that said - "Go
home and show your kiddies/spouse you really do care" - the iv drug/hiv
problems would decline past 11%. And - I believe it was in the 1960's
that drug use sky-rocketed - along with "free-sex" and "make love-not
war."
Remember the kiddies and our service people. Take good care of the
furry and feathered ones out there. Be safe and healthy. See ya next
time. Ever Toodles!! MONA
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