Efforts To Contain The Pandemic
Given the ease of production and shipping of this drug, it’s not going to be a problem that we can simply litigate our way out of. Earlier we mentioned the “Old Leaky Hose” metaphor and how we need a new hose to solve this situation, or at least affect it in a meaningful way. The simple fact is that we need to change our approach to how we deal with these types of pandemics. A lot of regions are taking on that challenge. There have been efforts to promote treatment, rather than prosecution, safe injection sites so that we minimize the amount of deaths caused by opioids, online community efforts to warn people about the dangers while promoting proper use of the drug, and some Darknet sites that are actually preventing the sale of the drug on their sites.
In Washington State, there is a current effort being made to promote safe injection sites around King County. The effort is actually being spearheaded by the heroin and prescription opiate addiction task force. The funding for this campaign has still not been approved, but if it is, it will be the first system of its kind in the United States. British Columbia has had safe injection sites for the past 13 years and has yet to report a single overdose at any of their facilities.
“One of the driving ideas behind this is creating a safe space where we can get people the medical, prevention and treatment services already provided elsewhere” –Brad Finegood, committee co-chairman and assistant director of the King County Behavioral Health and Recovery Division.
The ancillary benefits of having sites like these would be fewer used needles on the streets, providing information on treatment to the users, and having a ready supply of Narcan to prevent overdoses from tough-to-detect adulterants like fentanyl.
Seattle is also leading the charge in the United States by having the LEAD program or Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion. This program will take non violent chronic users to processing and gives them a choice: Go to Jail or seek treatment. So rather than burdening the already overpopulated prisons and jails that only reinforce drug problems, they are offering a person the opportunity to get their life back together and become a productive member of society.
The online community is especially helpful in providing useful links on how to properly use the drug and prevent overdoses. One Reddit user posted a guide online on how to properly use it, with quite possibly the best closing TL;DR we’ve ever come across related to the subject: “Fentanyl is a dangerous drug but if you really have to play pharmaceutical Russian roulette the above might help dodge a bullet.” While the guide is informative, but is not to be completely relied on. There are so many variables one has to consider, and the Reddit user points that out in one very succinct sentence: “There is a sudden jump somewhere in the dosing for each individual, most will never find out what that dose is until they take that knowledge with them to the grave or get urgent treatment with Narcan.”
Even Darknet sites are starting to deny the sales of fentanyl. The reason for this shift is very simply an economic one: They don’t want to kill off their customer base. Keeping the user alive is far more profitable than selling them the product that will terminate their revenue stream. Darknet Heroes League is giving users a 48-hour warning to remove fentanyl from their listings or their accounts will be terminated. Locally, we’re seeing ANKORS (known most prominently for their drug-testing presence at Shambhala Music Festival) crowd-funding for a portable mass spectrometer, which would enable them to test for fentanyl on-site and in-person.
The Drug War is a complete an utter failure. We will not solve the problem of drug abuse by simply sending users to prison. We need to change the way we view drugs from a criminal perspective to a disease perspective. Treat the disease, and we solve the problem. Once we do that, we can start to see a safer community, fewer deaths, less of a financial burden on our governments, and less violence.
Update (9/29): In a previous version of this article we made the statement that 700 deaths were associated with fentanyl. We have corrected this to say that there have been 700 deaths associated with opioids. We apologize for the error and have updated the article for accuracy.
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Phillip was raised on so many different genres of music, it has given him a unique perspective into the ever evolving music scene. Trance music began defining his life at the young age of 14, but thoroughly enjoys any type of music equally. He sees the music as an escape from the daily doldrums of life and says music can change a persons life in an instant pulling from his own experiences. His only goal in life is to share wonderful music with people and take electronic music to a higher plain with more accountability and creating a safer environment for his friends.
