Cops Battle Heroin by Abandoning Battle on Heroin Users

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sigmond

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By Allison Manning
Boston.com Staff

Opiate addicts in Gloucester who come to the police station — even if they’re carrying drugs — won’t be charged with a crime. They’ll get help.
“We’re committed to the idea of attacking the demand rather than attacking the supply,” Police Chief Leonard Campanello told Boston.com.

Following dozens of overdoses in town and a Saturday forum on opiate addiction, Campanello wrote in a Facebook post that any addict who comes to police headquarters will get an “angel” to walk them down the road toward detox recovery.
Even if someone walks in with needles and drugs, they won’t be charged, he said.
Campanello, a former narcotics detective, wrote that opiate addicts are suffering the same disease as those addicted to cigarettes.
“The reasons for the difference in care between a tobacco addict and an opiate addict is stigma and money,” he wrote. “Petty reasons to lose a life.
Four people have fatally overdosed in the town of fewer than 30,000 residents so far this year. More than 1,000 people died of opiate overdoses in Massachusetts last year, more than ever before.

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continued: http://www.boston.com/news/local/ma...-arrest-you/9nrZEse0deDpPqt1t1VozI/story.html
 
Petty reasons to needlessly lose a life indeed.

It's quite rare to read about such compassionate based interventions from cops.

This is a step in the right direction - better than none at all.
 
^totally agree. I think Massachusetts, and New England in general, will help lead the normalization and decriminalization of opiates. Other areas were hit harder by addiction, but no area as rich had as apparent and terrible an issue with the OC to H move. It's the only place that it really is affecting everyone equally, including the children of police and community leaders, so the walls of hypocrisy are forced to crumble.
 
crimsonjunk said:
Goodluck getting addicts to turn themselves in at the police station for treatment.
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Gloucester isn't a typical American town or small city. It used to have a large fishing community and has a long history of heroin use.

It seems to have changed a lot over last 20-30 years because commercial fishing is dying but would still be considered progressive when it comes to liberal ideals.

tl;dr: Cop is probably honest here.
 
The drug scene in the northeast USA is pretty depressing, from what little I've seen of it. Last time I was back there (in New York) some kid around my age (mid 20's) had recently died of an overdose, my friends were talking about it. Shit's sad. Use of heroin seems much more "normalized" in that area of the country than most other places I've been...it definitely dominates all other "hard drugs" as far as popularity is concerned IME.
 
This is why I support the decriminalization of all drugs. People are more likely to talk to their friends and family, and seek help, if they are not faced with the fear of going to jail, or even prison.
And even if they do not want help, at least they'd feel safe to tell their family members what's going on so that they don't have to guess at it for months, years and so on.

I do understand stigmas would still keep people from reaching out, but the sentiment is there regardless. I'm honest with my mother and friends even though meth is illegal- at least I have people holding me accountable so that when/ if I get out of hand they can smack me upside the head and throw me in rehab. Haha.
 
I could see addicts going to the aces that have the highest use and of rates...happens around here as sick as it is.

At least the cops won't be overcrowding the prison system with low rent drug abusers, and maybe do more focusing on murder, rape, burglary ect
 
ro4eva said:
Petty reasons to needlessly lose a life indeed.

It's quite rare to read about such compassionate based interventions from cops.

This is a step in the right direction - better than none at all.
Click to expand...

Yeahhh.. BUT I am not really buying it that cops really want to "help" opiate addicts... I bet if you walked into a police station ANYWHERE in Massachusetts today you would be immediately tazed (maybe shot) and then drug into the jail and thrown into a CAGE (no its not a "CELL" its a CAGE!) and then you have now become a slave. The War on Drugs kills more people then it helps, because it helps NO ONE it only hurts and kills people... ridiculous, would you really trust a COP to help you detox off opiates?!?! omg this is just a ruse to round up and jail opiate addicts.. no doubt.
 
gh0stmAn said:
Yeahhh.. BUT I am not really buying it that cops really want to "help" opiate addicts... I bet if you walked into a police station ANYWHERE in Massachusetts today you would be immediately tazed (maybe shot) and then drug into the jail and thrown into a CAGE (no its not a "CELL" its a CAGE!) and then you have now become a slave. The War on Drugs kills more people then it helps, because it helps NO ONE it only hurts and kills people... ridiculous, would you really trust a COP to help you detox off opiates?!?! omg this is just a ruse to round up and jail opiate addicts.. no doubt.
Click to expand...

I trust no cops. Sadly that's because of this war on (the people who prefer to use certain) drugs. And I'm sure there are lots of genuinely good, trustworthy cops in PDs throughout America looking to help protect and serve their communities in a professional manner, and who would never abuse their position of authority. But there's so many bad apples mixed in that I can't take the chance to let my guard down, so to speak.

We'll see if it's all a sadistic attempt to fill a bust quota - a new low in the enforcement of a fundamentally contradicted, severely fucked up section of laws and policies regarding certain mind altering substances. If this does indeed come to pass, and another young man is brutally murdered for no good reason by pig cops, there will likely be pandemonium in the urban streets of America like never before in this century.
 
As a drug user, I don't trust the police at all. Mainly BC all my minor interactions with cops have shown how truly rotten and shitty power assholes they are.

I was arrested on my parked car at the li rary trying to sleep off a migraine and a cop happened by and I had been taking Benz's so I guess my attitude was respecting his authoritah but he called back up. Long story short I had my xanax bottle almost dumped out, they tore through my car and found a downstem from a bong along with a slide, both of which were spotless. Along with it was one of those shitty fakecig looking one hitters that didn't even work BC I accidently got something stuck in it trying to clean it so it was dirty.

They charged me with poss or paraphernalia and they even had the balls to charge me with poss of a CDS to wit marijuana l/t 10 grams BC they were able to scrape some rez out of the thing.

Had to goto court ext...it all went away BC the prosecutor saw its a loser case, they didn't have PC in the first place and they did t have any real evidence.

So yea that's one of many reasons I avoid the cops at all costs. Its funny BC my parents say if you obey the law then you don't have anything to worry about or fear the cops and all...haha...if o ly that were true. They are in no way here to protect and serve,, more like abuse and harass
 
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