Shoot 'em up (NYC Dept Health and Mental Hygiene)
When New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg delivered his third inaugural address on January 1, he noted “Americans from across the country looked to New York to ring in a new year.”
This, said the mayor who strong-armed city leaders into changing the rules so he could serve a third term, was only fitting because New York has “always led the nation – not just in celebrating holidays, but in pioneering the most innovative and ambitious new ideas.”
One such pioneering new idea – courtesy of New York taxpayers – is a guidebook for heroin users that offers tips and information on the proper procedures for shooting up.
“Take Charge Take Care”, a 16-page booklet distributed by the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, features colorful illustrations and helpful tidbits such as what to do when one of your drug peeps shows signs of an overdose (“Call 911 and say ‘My friend is not breathing. It’s a medical emergency.’”)
Among the advice for junkies included in the pamphlet is the suggestion that one doesn’t shoot heroin alone (“if something goes wrong no one can help’); a primer for the proper way to prepare your veins (“don’t dig for veins, if you don’t ‘register’ pull out and try again”); and a step-by-step plan on how to properly prepare the drugs (“make a clean placemat from a newspaper”).
The latter, one would guess, is part of a grand plan to keep the New York Times afloat.
But while one New York health official says the goal of “Take Charge Take Care” is to promote health and save lives, a top official with the state’s Drug Enforcement Administration called it a “step-by-step instruction on how to inject a poison.”
In addition to info on how to warm your veins (jump up and down before injecting) and a warning about ‘booting’ only once or twice per shot, “Take Charge Take Care” tells junkies where to score clean syringes, suggests you “know your HIV status”, and encourages addicts to seek help for depression and their drug problem.
The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said it published 70,000 copies.
“Getting the Most from Your Prostitute” and “A Safe Meth Lab is a Happy Meth Lab” are two additional titles currently in production.
Comments
I completely agree with this piece. I don't think (like some people are suggesting), that this will teach the novice junkie how to shoot up. But I do believe that this is a waste of taxpayer money, and there is no valid reason as to why tax payer money should go to making it easier for heroin addicts to commit their crime.
This could be entrapment, think about it whoever asks for the publication gets picked up by the narcs and arrested for drug possesion. neat idea...
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