How to shoot heroin handbook.

[13F3OL7]

Don't know if anyone else has heard about this, but the health department in NYC published a book on how to shoot up on heroin. I don't see how Mayor Bloomberg can defend this shit.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34706732...ife/?GT1=43001

A New York City-funded guidebook for heroin users offers information on how to prepare drugs carefully and care for veins to avoid infection.

However, the state's top official with the Drug Enforcement Administration said the "Take Charge Take Care" guide was disturbing.

DEA special agent-in-charge John Gilbride said the handout was a "step-by-step instruction on how to inject a poison."

The city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene printed about 70,000 copies and a top official says the goal is to promote health and save lives.


The 16-page pamphlet features helpful tips for drug users such as: "Warm your body (jump up and down) to show your veins," and "find your vein before you try to inject."

Other tips include: "Only 'boot' once or twice in one shot."

Assistant Commissioner Daliah Heller said instructions on how to perform injections were included because there's "a less harmful way to inject."

The illustrated guidebook also offers information on HIV testing and warnings on the dangers of sharing needles.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,581877,00.html

NEW YORK — Do you want to learn a safer way to shoot heroin? New York City has a guide for that.

The city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene spent $32,000 of tax money on 70,000 copies that offer information on how to prepare drugs carefully and care for veins to avoid infection.

"This is a tremendous misuse of city funds, and I'm going to see what I can do to stop it," Democratic New York City Council member Peter Vallone Jr. told the New York Post. "It's sick."

And, it's not just taxpayers who are angry.

The state's top official with the Drug Enforcement Administration calls the "Take Charge Take Care" guide a "step-by-step instruction on how to inject a poison."

DEA special agent-in-charge John Gilbride says the handout is disturbing.

"It concerns me that the city would produce a how-to on using drugs," Gilbride told the Post. "Heroin is extremely potent. You may only get the chance to use it once. To suggest there is a method of using that alleviates the dangers, that's very disturbing."

The 16-page booklet features seven comics-like illustrations and offers such advice as "Warm your body (jump up and down) to show your veins," and "Find the vein before you try to inject."

A health official says the goal is to promote health and save lives. Assistant Commissioner Daliah Heller says instructions on how to perform injections were included because there's "a less harmful way to inject."

The illustrated guidebook offers information on HIV testing and the dangers of sharing needles.

Video of the story.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540...06247#34706247

[rickrock305]

thanks. apparently i was doing it all wrong.

[ChicagoTex]

In much the same way that abstinence "education" is useless in preventing kids from having sex and real sex education doesn't demonstrably increase teenage sexual interactions, the publishing of this is unlikely to get anyone to shoot heroin who wouldn't anyway.

I'm not the least bit offended by this, but it does pose two very reasonable questions:
1. How many heroin users will modify their habits based on this information?
and, perhaps far more pertinent...
2. Is this really a good use of taxpayer funds?

The answer to question 2 is less obvious than it would seem, but is contingent on question 1 - if enough heroin users modify their habits to increase their safety, thereby cutting down on EMT callouts and gratis clinic visits the program could conceivably more than pay for itself.

[Irish]

Supply & demand. The "Drug War" is obviously a failure in the same way Prohibition was so you might as well educate the users with .000000001% of the budget that gets allocated to the bottomless tax dollar pit of their failed "war".

[10MMGary]

Doesn't surprise me in the least and doesn't really upset me all that much either to be honest. The truly sad aspect is that a full blown junkie doesn't care and so called health professionals don't seem to understand that or ignore that fact. If said junkie is sick and is needing to get well, they will pull a needle out of a pile of animal excrement and stick it directly into their own heart if they think it will get them off the quickest. There is no rhyme or reason when dealing with junkies, there is only the dope.

[glocktogo]

Does the city of NY publish gun safety tips for those who use illegal guns?

Probably not.

[Avenger29]

This is surprising?

I seem to recall many years ago that at least one of the big cities was passing out clean needles for the druggies...

[Volucris]

$32k for 70,000 books about anything is normal when you're talking about government involvement I guess.


It's a smart idea and not the first of its kind I would imagine. The drug war is absolutely pointless and the best thing we can do is legalize it and educate people about the truth. Not waste money on silly commercials of extremism and absent logic. Every health class in high school should teach things like this. Ignorance kills.

[khc3]

$32k for 70,000 books about anything is normal when you're talking about government involvement I guess.


It's a smart idea and not the first of its kind I would imagine. The drug war is absolutely pointless and the best thing we can do is legalize it and educate people about the truth. Not waste money on silly commercials of extremism and absent logic. Every health class in high school should teach things like this. Ignorance kills.

Ignorance most certainly does not kill, at least not any more.

If you want to teach junkies how to shoot up "safely," do it on your own dime.

Just another genius with endless "smart" ways to spend other people's money

[Irish]

Just another genius with endless "smart" ways to spend other people's money

The President or Congress?!?!