Drug shame near primary school

[Rats_are_Dancin]

"News" (Herald Sun) Drug shame near primary school

Herald Sun 02-08-2005

Drug shame near primary school
Liam Houlihan, youth reporter
02aug05

USERS of a needle program based next door to a primary school are injecting drugs within sight of children and dumping the needles just metres from where they play.
The program, which distributes free syringes to drug addicts, is run out of a Richmond health centre, which neighbours Richmond West Primary School.
Addicts with needles from the centre inject themselves in broad daylight in full view of the primary students.

The North Richmond Community Health Centre, which services between 80 and 200 drug users, said it found up to four used needles on its grounds each day.

And used syringes have even been found on school grounds.

Parents at the school say their children can clearly see drug users injecting and overdosing.

The Herald Sun yesterday witnessed one user inject himself while standing just metres from the rear entrance of the school.

He discarded his used needle on the ground and walked away before being reprimanded by a centre worker who made him dispose of it properly.

"Some of those children have witnessed overdoses in the (health centre) car park at school knock-off time -- it's a bit traumatising," parent Lyn Dixon said.

"From the playground and their classrooms the children can see into the car park and see people injecting.

"They're too young to witness that. They'll lose their innocence too quickly."

The centre admitted that addicts sometimes collapsed in their car park or against the wire fence bordering the school.

In the area around the centre yesterday the Herald Sun found four used needles, discarded balloons used to carry the drug and spoons used to cook it up.

Many of the young students live at the nearby housing estate and have to pass the health centre when moving between home and school.

"My son was three and I had to teach him about the safety of syringes," Ms Dixon said.

She said drug users couldn't wait and shot up instantly in the centre's car park on the other side of the school's wire fence as soon as they obtained needles.

Ms Dixon said her son had found numerous needles that she would have to pick up with a pair of tongs and put in the nearest sharps box.

"The majority of the parents at the school hate it but have to put up with it because it's there. I'd love to see (the needle program) gone from that centre," she said.

Peter Lord, principal of the 147-student school, said it had no concerns about the needle program. A few needles were found every year on school grounds but were not necessarily from users of the centre.

The health centre said it carried out two sweeps of its grounds daily to pick up used syringes.

Executive manager of client services Stephen Schmidtke said the centre had received complaints about users of the needle program but the risk to neighbouring primary school children was being exaggerated.

"People just don't like it. They are seeing people who look drug-affected," he said. "But there's never been a reported non-occupational needlestick injury resulting in transmission of HIV. Some of the fear is a bit unwarranted."

 

[Splatt]

Wow...
Sounds retarded. Everyone I know that injects.. even the real junkies.... They still don't want to do it outside, let alone next to a fucking school! They'd prefer to do it at home, and do it up as properly as they can. Shouldn't there be bins next to the machines/centre ?

 

[chugs]

1 parent complains, a reporting short on real issues, and a silly title and bingo you've got a story.

 

[aunty establishment]

^ True. And this situation has *nothing* to do with the fact that there's a NSP there, and everything to do with the fact that this primary school is nestled between huge public housing blocks, in a really dodgy part of town. I used to live around this area (actually a kilometre or so away from the blocks) and we regularly had people shooting up outside our house and there are lots and lots of discarded needles around there. I saw about three or four a week and nearly stepped on a couple

Obviously, the easiest solution is to initiate a safe injecting room on the venue and only supply fits for that purpose. But the voters wouldn't go for that I guess

 

[eggman]

If the government would just approve the needle exchange to allow injection inside the same building then there would be no need to inject in the open. While I don't for a minute argue that it never happened, I am sure that not every single person that picks up needles walks straight over to the school fence and bangs up in the middle of big lunch.

As for the kids witnessing IV in action, what about when they see mum and dad with a Winfield blue hanging out of there mouth? That also sends a message.

 

[hoptis]

More of the usual from our old friend Liam Houlihan.

Here's the URL:
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,16121391%5E661,00.html

 

[mofo]

yeah westside eggman, different people out that way, i just think its sad the gov is meeting these people half way and they still piss on it, whatever happened to responsible drugs use?? cant these peeps wait till they walk the 30meters to their housing commission flats??

-MoF0-

 

[eggman]

More of the usual from our old friend Liam Houlihan.

Here's the URL:
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,16121391%5E661,00.html

He wears many hats our friend Liam Houlihan.

In this article here he claims to be the religious affairs reporter.

If anyone read his article about getting into clubs by hiring models to accompany him, perhaps you would agree he may also be the brothels and escorts reporter.

 

[mrK!NGP!N]

As a parent my self i have a better solution.......

BURN THE F%^$@%G PLACE DOWN........


Im sick of people feeling sorry for junky scum and them having clean needles at the risk of others i.e. children.

the gallery as someone before mentioned is a good idea atleast they are made to throw the needle in the bins provided inside the place.Which this health centre in question should do !!!!!!!!!

it will only take one child to get pricked by a needle for the shit to hit the fan.


I know i would burn the place down if my kid got injured somehow and im sure im not the only one.....

Also just because your using a clean needle and spoon etc NO one ever thinks about how many fingers have touched the stuff your about to stick in your arm i.e. a dealer (who has hep B or C ) gets some new gear and has a shot .. He/she may have small traces of blood on their fingers afterwards that you cant see but its there .. then say he/she starts cutting it all on a plate or similar its possible small traces of that blood will get into the mix which then is sold which some or maybe all the persons who use that stuff will get something depending on hows its introduced to your system and or how healthy you are ( had hep A,B vaccine shots) but theres always C to worry about,mainly depends on how hygenic the persons who previously touched the stuff were.I have seen some very dodgy people cutting stuff.

 

[mrK!NGP!N]

If the government would just approve the needle exchange to allow injection inside the same building then there would be no need to inject in the open. While I don't for a minute argue that it never happened, I am sure that not every single person that picks up needles walks straight over to the school fence and bangs up in the middle of big lunch.

As for the kids witnessing IV in action, what about when they see mum and dad with a Winfield blue hanging out of there mouth? That also sends a message.

dude smoking a cigarette isnt as dangerous as I.V. use and the immediate diseases that goes along with it and children should not have to see people half dead on the ground with a needle hanging out their arm.

I used to be good friends with a group a people that were on heroin & still are and i saw from a outsiders perspective as i have never stuck a needle in my arm anyways i saw how it affected their children seeing people shooting up in front of them and another their dad half dead with a needle in his arm.Do you really think this is acceptable for children to be seeing at school ?

Its common sense that if you have a free needle exchange centre that needles will be littered outside by dumb ass junkys that couldnt give a shit about a little kid so why whould you have such a place right next to a school. I guess the local government that way is on the gear as well..

Also Splatt said everyone he knows might want to do it at home in privacy but what about the hardcore heroin junkies that are hanging out, i know they would do it ANYWHERE !

If you Know anyone who uses needles just try and make it a big deal that they know to throw the things in the bin its not too much to ask..

Later..

 

[eggman]

^^ I can see where you are coming from, however I do feel that burning the place down is an extreme measure and not really constructive.

Everyone knows harm minimisation is the only worthwhile policy to pursue in relation to drugs, however half-arsed measures and 'band-aid' solutions aren't helping either.

A needle exchange program in areas where IV drug use is prevelant is a great start, but what is the use if people pick up new fits and dump them on the ground. It would be more beneficial to the public as a whole if users could collect syringes, use then in a controlled environment and leave the venue with the syringes left behind for proper disposal.

Yr comments in relation to contamination by the manufacturer are valid, however the only soultion would be the controlled manufacture of Heroin by Government owned and funded labs. If the idea of shooting galleries seems like a serious paradigm shift, then that would take a shift of monster proportions.

But I guess the question should be asked, who approved a needle exchange at a premises adjacent to a school? Brothels and Adult Book shops need to comply with certain zoning restrictions, so why shouldn't a needle exchange.

 

[Bent]

IMHO whilst there's no doubt the Herald Sun might have sensationalised the incident just a tad, there's no denying there is a real issue with irresponsible IV users.

Having lived in that area for a while, and indeed in the less selubrious areas in St Kilda, I can't begin to count the amount of times I've seen dumped needles in extremely inappropriate places - two local schools that I knew of were extremely popular places to hide and hang out afterhours, and were constantly littered with broken booze bottles and discarded needles...and no doubt they weren't the only places.

More recently whilst walking my dog on a bayside beach I had a very close call, and that was on a beach that had just been cleaned. Let me assure you, had I found the person responsible for dumping it there, I don't think I'd have politely asked him or her to pick it up.

Whilst no doubt providing a needle exchange/education service is vital, and whilst I don't have the answers, something does have to be done...why are we for example not asking for the old syringes? Why are we not subsidising the retractable needles? Why if we are handing out needles, are we not policing the immediate area more?

Why are we just accepting that part of the problem of offering the solution of clean needles is the dumping of dirty ones?

 

[on_the_rise_5]

Who has allowed this centre to keep operating IF it is posing a hazard to children i dont mind the needle exchange program i think its fantastic but if there is 1 needle found a year in the sand pit or on the grounds of the school that is meaning that an innocent child is possibly going to contract a deadly disease then the centre should be investigated to see if it is posing a risk to the children and if so every precaution should be taken to protect the kids... Every person i know who injects does so safely and disgards there equiptment safely EVEN if they are shooting in a public park, bad publicity like this is not good for any drug user

 

[aunty establishment]

on_the_rise: even if the NSP was closed down, it wouldn't reduce the number of syringes found in the area - since right nearby is one of the most infamous places to buy injectables in Melbourne.

bent:

Whilst no doubt providing a needle exchange/education service is vital, and whilst I don't have the answers, something does have to be done...why are we for example not asking for the old syringes? Why are we not subsidising the retractable needles? Why if we are handing out needles, are we not policing the immediate area more?

All excellent questions. Here's what I think I know about the topic, would love anyone else's perspective:
1. They can't ask for the old syringes back since there is an increased risk of needle stick injury and also because used fits contain traces of drugs. In Australia, carrying empty syringes is not illegal, but carrying drugs is. Therefore a dirty syringe is potentially grounds for legal confrontation.
2. I believe there was a lot of user resistance to retractable needles; they have a moderate failure rate and if the shot is missed, you have to transfer your gear to a new fit. I think this is surmountable but there's probably more to it that I'm unaware of. I know the per-unit cost is much higher to the govt. too.
3. There's no excuse for this except expense. Personally, I'd love to see widespread education on safe needle disposal in surrounding areas, with a disposal "hotline" people could call.

 

[Splatt]

Just so you all know. I dumped my last 20 or so needle boxes (5 picks per box, in the designed locked part of the box) safely in a bin, hours before trash pickup. That is the next best thing besides driving to the hospital and dumping them there.

IOt's just fucking ignorant and stupid to dispose needles anywhere near children or in inappropriate places. I have only ever seen needles in my life discarded on the grass or whatever, a few times. Out of interest (fucked if i know why) I picked one up one time and it had no needle on the end, and even the orange cap on it. The needle had also been totally cleaned out too. I discarded it properly. Other than that I have never ever seen them anywhere but in obvious sharps disposal bins (not that I put my hands into them.. just guessing theyre there....) and our town has needle vending machines and exchange programs at chemists.

 

[Flexistentialist]

aunty establishment - NSPs do ask their clients to return used injecting equipment and (in Qld at least) workers in these services are exempt from prosecution for possession based on the minute traces of drugs left in the syringes. One of the primary functions of NSPs is to provide a venue for safe disposal. NSPs also supply every client with a disposal bin with each transaction.

Also, I think it's worth re-stating again that the risk of contracting a blood borne virus from a needle stick injury in a community setting (park, beach etc) is extremely small. There's never been a case recorded in Australia, and until very recently there'd never been a case recorded anywhere in the world.

Retractable syringes are not being introduced in Australia, and the government has discontinued the trial. There are a number of reasons for this, but the government's official line is that it was because the technology was crap. It required the syringe being withdrawn then depressed, squirting the last bit of blood out. Obviously this creates more risks than it reduces.

The article mentions that the staff of the NSP are conducting needle sweeps in the area twice daily. This combined with education of the clients can reduce rates of unsafe disposal. In my experience working in NSPs, the vast majority of clients who use the service will be mighty pissed off at the irresponsible users who've given them a bad name. I've had clients punch the crap out of people they've caught unsafely disposing nearby the NSP where I work.

IV drug users are normal people too. Many of them would have kids attending that very school and would be as horrified as anyone else is by unsafe disposal on the school grounds or nearby.

Of course a supervised injecting facility would be ideal, but under the current government, I'm just grateful we haven't had zero tolerance introduced as national policy (yet).

 

[Splatt]

As that old dickhead on the SBS Insight (the one with Johnboy in it!), I'm sorry Australia, We enforced Harm Minimisation in the 80's and it has failed you. We have failed you and we are sorry. LOL

 

[John Candy]

It's fucking disgusting. Maybe these sods have given up on their lives, it doesn't mean everyone else has, especially the young ones. These are inoccent little precious souls that they are putting in danger. Cunts.

 

[aunty establishment]

Thanks for the clarifications Flex, as I said I don't know that much about it not being an IV user myself

 

[BigTrancer]

Close the school and get those kids out of that neighbourhood altogether.

BigTrancer