While there’s plenty of negligence among Northeast Ohio leadership that we can point to and criticize, there are also a handful of items worth praising. Local stances on our ballooning heroin problems (abuse, trafficking, etc.) are significant in that regard. Also:
With 2013 featuring a steady ramping-up of drug busts and public awareness, the problem termed by Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty as an “epidemic” was front and center. That’s a great thing.
Right now, four people indirectly tied to the October 2013 overdose of Lanny David Gullion III, a Medina resident, are being brought in the court system. Along with the man who sold him the heroin, Gullion’s driver, a separate friend, and a “sidekick” have all pleaded guilty to charges lessened from the original involuntary manslaughter charges. Each played a role in connected Gullion with accused dealer Michael Karkoska. In the past, each might have avoided the eye of the law.
Relatedly, in May of last year, we published a feature that showcased the power of naloxone, a prescribed overdose reversal. At the time, access to the drug was a real problem for many addicts and their families. The state has curbed restrictions since then, granting more people in need the ability to fend off near-certain death and, in turn, seek rehabilitative help.
This article appears in Feb 26 – Mar 4, 2014.
Treatment — drug courts, methadone clinic, etc. — are far more effective than interdiction when it comes to reducing rates of drug abuse. Reducing demand for drugs, with all of its flaws, is the way to deal with this awful situation. Trouble is, attempting to reduce the never-ending supply of drugs is far more politically popular.
Thirty years ago, the “epidemic” was crack cocaine/cocaine, and “epidemics” have come and gone since that era. Illicit drugs are the ultimate in free enterprise, as what’s hot – and what’s not – has a vicious, jagged flow on the street. The addiction to the lifestyle – though – does not abate….have a person truly see that the “junkie’s paradise” is a sickening mirage and treatment can be successful – for the long run.
Although this is generally an unpopular opinion in many of the recovery circles’ view, methadone has proved to be a life-saving bridge from the state of rampant addiction (and all of the wreckage, misery, despair, and impending doom as a result of this life) to the possibility of a real life and a place of responsibility and accountability in society. For some, methadone can mean long-term maintenance but this is light years ahead of active addiction. With needed and appropriate counseling and support, an addict can change “old behaviors” and stabilize all areas of his/her life, including family, job, relationships, social involvement, and helping another to the promise of recovery. I fully support any road out of active addiction – both the popular and not-so-popular routes. With the absurdly high prices of in-patient treatment, coupled with the challenge of severe physical addiction, methadone treatment is a workable and accessible avenue of freedom – which we all have a right to (if willing to seek it out). Please support this alternative choice of treatment – as often it may be the last hope of an addict out of options.