Cops Decide Heroin Addicts Will Be Helped With Rehab, Not Arrested

[FrodosPet]

http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/heroin-addicts-will-be-helped-with-rehab-not-arrested/

People who turn in their drugs to the Gloucester Police Department and ask for help won’t be arrested, they’ll be rehabilitated.

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“We will assign them an ‘angel’ who will be their guide through the process. Not in hours or days, but on the spot,” Campanello told Massachusetts Live. “I’ve never arrested a tobacco addict, nor have I ever seen one turned down for help when they develop lung cancer, whether or not they have insurance. The reasons for the difference in care between a tobacco addict and an opiate addict is stigma and money. Petty reasons to lose a life.”

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He is currently planning his trip to Washington, D.C., to meet with the state’s two Democratic senators, Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, as well as U.S. Rep. Seth W. Moulton, D-Salem.

[FrodosPet]

1. Addicts who surrender drugs and ask for help won't be charged, they'll be helped

http://www.masslive.com/news/boston/index.ssf/2015/05/gloucester_police_chief_leonar.html

GLOUCESTER — In a sweeping policy change on how the Gloucester Police Department will handle certain drug crimes, Chief Leonard Campanello says addicts who surrender their illegal drugs and ask for help will be offered treatment options instead of handcuffs.

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Campanello says he already has support from the Lahey Hospital and Medical Center (the Lahey Clinic) and its affiliate, Gloucester's Addison Gilbert Hospital, which have agreed to fast track addicts by assessing their needs so proper care can be administered quickly.

Gloucester police officials have entered into an agreement with Conley's Drug Store and are working with a CVS store to allow anyone access to Narcan, a nasal spray used to reverse the effects of a heroin overdose. The goal is to make the anti-overdose medication available without a prescription at little to no cost, according to Campanello.

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"I will bring the idea of how far Gloucester is willing to go to fight this disease and will ask them to hold federal agencies, insurance companies and businesses accountable for building a support system that can eradicate opiate addiction and provide long term, sustainable support to reduce recidivism," he said.

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People with an illness should not be jailed for that illness. But they definitely should be encouraged and assisted with recovering from that illness.