Rooting for Ireland and the World
The issue of safe injection centers in Ireland is far greater than a simple issue of some facilities in Dublin. The implementation of safe injection centers worldwide is significant testament to the decreasing faith people have in our current system of “War on drugs” and a war on their users. The old catchphrases of “Just Say No” and the inherent guilt, blame, and shame, they bring upon addicts. Furthermore, there is a growing trend of people who are tired of addicts being criminalized and demonized.
The trend towards harm reduction measures such as safe injection centers and decriminalization is a trend towards compassion and a more productive overhaul of the way we deal with drug addiction. By helping the communities come out from underneath the shadow of mandatory sentencing and the three-strike policy we can help them more effectively reach treatment.
The greatest obstacle becomes fear. Fear that if we use such centers or decriminalize (remember decriminalization is not legalization) hard drugs, we will only worsen the situation by taking away the barrier of punishment. But see, has the fear of punishment worked? No. It hasn’t. Drug addiction is still alive and well. Addiction does not care about rules, it does not care about prison, it is a mental illness that is supremely difficult to heal from. Prison won’t solve this problem because prison does not heal. Prison puts addicts into very expensive boxes next to hardened criminals, putting them in contact with more people who can furnish their addiction. They remain addicted and once they get out, many will pick it right back up. People are so focused on it being “wrong” that they can no longer find it in themselves to feel compassion and understanding. This is shame. This is supporting the idea that “I am like this, I am an addict, because I am a failure.” There is also the fear of addicts. We cannot see beyond the drug into the person that could well be your own family.
We cannot solve this problem if this fear and shame persists. I am by no means suggesting that safe injection centers are the be-all end-all solution. Of course not. But they are a step in the direction of lifting the shame and the fear, and THAT is one of the most important parts of that solution. Ireland is implementing an important and praiseworthy measure that has implications not just for its own country but for the rest of the world as well. I hope that the measure is implemented effectively and can act as a positive example for other influential countries. It is time to seriously reconsider our norms as they pertain to drug addiction and drug policy.
