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Thursday, February 25, 2016

Ithaca New York: Plan To Open A Safe Place For Heroin Use

Lucio R. Borderland Beat republished from NPR

The mayor of Ithaca, N.Y., wants to create a place where people can use heroin or other drugs injected drugs under supervision, in an effort to combat soaring deaths from overdoses. But that's a lot easier said than done.

The idea is that people addicted to heroin or other injection drugs would show up at the facility. They're provided with clean needles, and trained medical staff stands vigilantly by with naloxone, an opioid overdose antidote, to prevent overdose deaths. Medical personnel don't help users get high, but would give care and referrals to addiction treatment programs.

But since the drug use is illegal, both the city and staff risk breaking laws, too.

If Mayor Svante Myrick wants the injection site to see the light of day, there are major legal hurdles he's going to have to surmount, says Leo Beletsky, a professor of law and health sciences at Northeastern University in Boston. The facility needs some kind of authorization or exemption from the state of New York, either by changing state law or as an executive action from the governor. Then Ithaca will need similar exemption at the federal level.

Mayor Svante Myrick of Ithaca, N.Y., says having a supervised facility for heroin users would reduce the toll on the community.


Cliff Owen/AP

In 1992, the New York State Department of Health issued a state of emergency allowing public funding of needle exchange programs. "And they gave localities the power to make their own rules," Myrick, who says his father was an addict, told Shots. "I think we're in a similar state of emergency. We can't wait any longer." He hopes the state agrees.


Governor Andrew Cuomo's office did not respond to a request for a comment on Ithaca's plan. If no action comes from him and a medical state of emergency isn't declared, there is one last, defiant option. Ithaca could go ahead with it anyway.

Similar things have been done in the past, Beletsky notes. "You have the entire [marijuana] industry in the U.S. that's technically illegal under federal law, right? And yet it's functioning." The federal government is using its discretion not to go after people abiding by state law in states like Colorado, Beletsky notes, and that same concept could work on the state level. "Basically, if you play your cards right you can potentially do things that are illegal and yet are tolerated."

In other words, Governor Cuomo doesn't necessarily have to say yes. He just has to, not say no. In a press conference Wednesday morning, Myrick said that he wouldn't pursue that route. "We've no interest in putting time and money into something that will get shut down later." But Myrick still has the option in his pocket, should he choose to take it out and create the first supervised injection facility in the United States.

Other countries have used safe injection sites for decades in an effort to reduce the death toll from heroin. The concept started in the 1980s in Europe. The first site to open in North America was in 2003 in Vancouver, Canada. After three years, the city showed large declines in people using injection drugs in public. Between 2004 and 2005, the medical staff made over 2,000 referrals for addiction treatment and other care a year. Researchers believe the Vancouver facility lowered overdose deaths by around 35 percent in its neighborhood and nearly 10 percent citywide.

But that doesn't mean people in Ithaca aren't worried. "Does Ithaca really need a government-run heroin shooting gallery?" writes William A. Jacobson, an Ithaca resident and Cornell University law professor, in his blog  Legal Insurrection. "I have mixed feelings about such a location from a public policy perspective. The heroin scourge is real, I'm just not sure normalizing the use helps the problem."

And Ithaca's Chief of Police John Barber said in a press conference Wednesday morning that he disagrees with the creation of a supervised injection facility because heroin is still a controlled substance, although he does support other aspects of Mayor Myrick's plan.

Other community members have said they want and will welcome the facility, according to Myrick. The idea to create the site came from Ithaca residents in the first place. "Over the course of the last two years, we compiled what people suggested," he says. "And this plan is the response from the community."

Figuring this out will take time. Myrick says he expects the facility to open in a couple of years.




73 comments:

  1. Que esta pasando esto no es noticias de land near the border Esto ya valio..so sad.

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    1. 2:59 gracias a Dios que ya valió para ti, y ya te vas a la verga, "nomás te la comes y te vas", como dijo fox a fidel, y fidel a epn...all of them narcos...
      --the only thing new in the world is that there is not much new under the sun, it is all related, grow the fack up...

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  2. Say....What are those new yorkers up to?

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    1. 4:01 The usual, looking for a new reliable supplier, or a pusher that tries to be fair to your money...

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  3. With more overdoses the drug will naturally decline.It's already happened here in Alberta with fentenyol and ectasy.People are afraid to try it so don't.Quickest way too to shut down the cartels.For the people already addicted,I don't think it matters.If every 2nd person died they would still do it.After all they need their fix no matter what.For that I don't know what to say.

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    1. I completly disagree. It is not fizzling out, its done nothing but get worse in the last 7 years, fact. we are at a tipping point. As much as i dont like this idea, maybe its a good one. Maybe its not. I dont know anymore. Ive personally lost almost a dozen friends, and 2 family members since my graduation in 05...shutting down the cartels is way beyond just legalizing drugs or convincing everyone to stop their drug use, its so much more than that at this point. It might be a good starting point. Again. I dont know anymore. I just dont want to see a bunch of people dying off, especailly if we can stop it. Its a human life, reguardless if its an addict, or poor. Its human lives. We have to do somthing.
      Munke

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    2. Like what?...We don't have the power to do anything, it's up the "authorities" and the governments...

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    3. Besides there are programs available that can help drug addicts or m i wrong??? It's their motherfcking choice if they want to stay doped out.

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    4. 2:30 most rehab programs are scams and make it worse.. 12 steps philosophy is obsolete with a mediocre percentage of success rate. Is time to look for different alternatives.

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    5. What is the main porpuse of places like those anyways? Is it to give junkies a 'safe high', or do they offer them other alternatives, like rehabilitation?

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    6. It's their problem, every one knows that doing drugs can be very dangerous, it's not like they didn't know the risks. Besides those hard drug users/addicts are not necessarily the best Rats.. LOL

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  4. I like the idea but first put a few cameras in there so we can watch it live then and then we will know who these dirtbags are.

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    1. If you want to look for “dirtbags”, maybe you should look at the people who are willing to let thousands die in order to force their deeply flawed conservative moral values on everyone else. Maybe the real “dirtbags” are the people who, for the same pathetic reason, are willing to deny terminal cancer patients the right to ease their suffering with medical marijuana, and who support a law enforcement industry whose bread and butter is the 800,000 safe, easy arrests they get to make annually for the simple possession of marijuana, which has never killed or even harmed anyone, ever.

      Injection drug users are human beings with problems. Maybe we should all think a little more about who the “dirtbags” really are.

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  5. And the mean time in a town in Mexico the mayor wants to have a place to chop people's heads safe and expect no to have more illegal graveyards and no more unknown dead bodies

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  6. Chapos people taking over all of NY finally.

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    1. Y chapo stop talking of him he is going to be in jail almost all his life by the way most of new yorks drugs dont even come from mexico they come from over seas.

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    2. No most of the drugs in new your come from over seas and 7:46 stop putting that its annoying

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    3. 6:43 Is that right?

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    4. @7:37 a.m.follow the food chain here! They are all connected in one way or another! Do u really think chapo dont buy and trade with the triads, italians and other criminal groups? Yes he does and they him! In a roundabout way yes the drugs in NY do come from mexico!

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  7. Lucio, Chives who is Adrian Gomez Gonzalez?

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  8. A common sense approach to dealing with drug abuse that finally benefits tax payers. This will reduce EMS, hospital, and jail and court costs and reduce overdose deaths and hospitalization that is avoidable In a controlled environment. This is also a start to reducng non-violent addicts and recreational drug users from becoming career criminals in prison which will reduce victim, court and prison expenses. It is good to see policy in the best interest of the tax payers rather than the corporate welfare scam special interests have enjoyed since the 70s. If cities keep up this common sense approach I'll need to sell my GEO stock that's benefited from the "drug war".

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    1. will never work .to many variable . investigations will start there . you think a junkie don't know that . deals will be made there . you think a cop don't know that. A far better solution that isn't worth a shit but still far better . decriminalization . decriminalize it produce it (stabilized) distribute it . real bad idea will never happen but still better than the currant status . but then again use Nazi tactics to stop it from coming in . our liberties cause us to be so weak before our enemies............

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    2. Huyyy si muy Mr wall st, que las bolsa de valores y que mamada..., mejor que dejen que se mueran estos drogadictos total no sirven para nada..tu piensas que esto va a funcionar?? Esto es fomentar el uso de drogas..

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    3. 8:19 how will this help keep "non-violent addicts and recreational drug users from becoming career criminals ? I don't think their talking about covering their drug expense . These addicts are going to be under a lot of preasure from their "source" to stay away from this place . Do you really think that dope cops will leave this kinda place alone ? That would be like training a bird dog not to catch chickens . Its just what they do . This is some kind of fairy tail . It wont happen . Under the guise of safely shooting heroin ? Ridiculous ! Now a detox or applying legal prescribed drugs . Yea those kind of situations can and do fly . Not heroin never happen. Not even realistic.

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    4. 8:19-roger that

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    5. They do it in Sweden.

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    6. Nonviolent offenders exceed a 60% recidivism after prison (and have since 80s) and prison makes them unemployable. No wonder 22% of the 60% are reincarcerated for violent crimes. As far as pushers pressuring addicts not to use; that's ludicrous. It makes business sense to encourage behavior that keeps their addicts alive to buy next fix. More than 1,000 addicts a day use controlled facilities in Vancouver which says the supervised shooting saves $4 for every $1 spent on supervised shooting. Boston and NYC have also concluded this saves economic and social costs but dealing with ignorance and fighting private prison lobby. Countries that place efficient governance and serving their citizens above special interest like Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Australia, and more have used supervised injection facilities since 80s and 90s despite US pressure because it best serves their tax payers and society.

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    7. 8:19pm - agree. Even conservative Dallas is has quietly created a tent city, or controlled intravenous drug use environment due to the high economic costs to the city and county. I'm a 2nd year resident at Parkland Hospital (county facility) and we've seen much lower ER numbers since the tent city was organized. Trained personnel are treating overdoses and we see far fewer indigent OD deaths and visiting ER. Unfortunate suburb kids and are still coming in and often they receive Naloxone too late but controlled area for the indigent is saving lives and millions inn hospital expenses.

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    8. People have you actually known heroin addicts ? I guess some sick fuckers will show up hoping to score. That about it unless somebody is supplying it . This is a total bullshit dream . Kinda makes some feel all warm and fluffy . Get to the doctor yourselves . Your heart is beeding !

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    9. @3:17 I don't know if u live in a trailer off a country road or just a recluse but there heroina addicts roaming every city in your country- so scoring ain't no problem. This is about helping people that support the addictos heroina not the addicts. Pero if you made money and had to pay taxes you would understand what's written in plain English above (my third language and I get it).

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    10. 4:56, who the hell needs a third language, SNOBS?
      BEING AN ADDICT,means scoring, on the street, without getting shotchahged, putting it on the line with the possibility of an overdose, out of real love, you don't know what to expect and every chance encounter may be the last, you do not care or worry, because you have surrendered...
      --viciosos on the other hand, need security, sanctuaries, government supervision, but they want to risk nothing for her, yet...there is also the thing, sharing, not profiting or recruiting for profit, profit makes any vice dirty...
      --The Heroin traffickers made a lot of profit from the vietnam war on laos and cambodia, long before there was any chapo or mayo, and "The Opium Wars" says the chinese have never stopped producing it for the brittish, with hindú shit on the middle, and since the war for afghanistan, it came back into the US like never before, sustituting coca, grifa and meth...

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    11. @1:22- you are mentally scattered - go seek medical attention your totally incoherent and can't express a complete thought.

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    12. good point 8:17. About time government starts
      doing things that benefit the tax payers footing the hospital and prison bill for these non violent prisoners. I'm sick and tired of our prison and hospital property taxes going up every year while prison business and hospitals are hitting pay dirt.

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    13. These comments right here show you a small demographic of the people reading about crime and criminality and their personal knowledge of these topics.
      In other words they know fuck all about what their flapping their gums about,and their naivety is startling ?

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    14. I'm messy, not messi, you are so centered on nothing...
      --the Heroin being brought from afghanistan, is not being flown in by the afghani navy or the taliban air force, please, do I need to get even more snobbish for yo'ses ass or just a little bit more especific?

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    15. 3:27 you didn't share anything to suggest that you know anything but insults and poor grammer and based on the lack of any substance you offer I will assume many of the post writers know more than you care to recognize.

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    16. It's interesting how many people will state shit the know nothing about instead of doing a little research and actually saying something is substance rather than childlike name calling and scattered jibberish. Thanks to those of you that have something interesting to offer rather than the uneducated Trump like name calling.

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    17. 1:22 Pretty sure the opium war was the Chinese didn't want the Brits to sell opium to their people so the brits sent their marines in there to kick their ass so their "British merchants" could continue selling opium .
      Stop the drug and the addicts slowly go away . Never was a heroin addict before it exhisted .

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    18. Don't host it , cut it off !

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    19. @11:04; yeah that's been a huge success for the last 40+ years hasn't it! Why does every country that doesn't hide the problem and pretend it doesn't exist have a lower incidence of drug abuse and addiction? Because education and managed use makes more economic and social sense than the pretend it doesn't exist policy and prison when we can't pretend. US policy is so arcane and inefficient!

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    20. 3:27 es un gramer with por grammar, I mean un gramero...
      Cry, mea rivers?
      --there are people trying to help, voluntarily, o4 for very little pay from a very small budget, because the 18 billion dollars Ronnie gave to start the war on drugs got stolen while drug trafficking tripled...
      --never has there been any success on the war on drugs, other than arresting little pushers and pocketing the federal budgets to "privatize" the proceeds...
      --so, if the bleeding hearts want to do something about it, why is it anyone else's business?
      10:24 please forgive me if my brain seems to be too fast for you, we the geniuses can't help it, you know?

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    21. Its good idea but I doubt its going to happen. its illegal first of all, second if I was a junky I wouldn't want to advertise the fact that Iam one by showing up at the clinic, I would be nervous as hell and I'll probably lose my buzz anyway...also knowing that cops are watching the place, noting who to watch out for on their next patrol...If I was a junky all of the above will make me nervous, I'll take my chances and do it at home where it's comfortable and secure..that would be my guess. so although it might be a good idea to have a shooting clinic,where its being monitored; I wouldn't want all that attention...I'm sure there are alot of closet junkies out there that they don't want their friends or families finding out about their little secrete

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  9. Hey BB post the news about the Zetas and CDN war in Ciudad Victoria.

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  10. OMG why did all those tenderloin broke dope fiends dieded? now. new yorks is. more. progressive than ca saad..

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  11. Christian Lopez PalafoxFebruary 26, 2016 at 6:48 AM

    Drug addicts are parasites to society. How do they fund their habits, by committing crimes against the community and the mayor wants to give them a safe haven? Idiotic

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    1. Christian you insult yourself a bit more with every word you type....its not the 50's anymore gramps...its good to see our elderly is able to keep up with our tech.
      Munke

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    2. Narcos working for politicians are the parasites, but we should worry more about the politicians that exploit them, addicts are just collateral damages, if someone wants to explore ways to help them, WHY SHOULD BE THAT ANYBODY ELSE'S PROBLEM?

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    3. 6:48; are alcoholics and homeless parasites? Are you a fan of Mein Kampf? You must be pretty perfect as I'm assuming those you love are as well.

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    4. Parasites start at the highest levels of governement,leeching anything they can and it just trickles down from there. You dont think someone that has diabetes because they have eaten cream puffs non stop is a parasite would you? Think about it
      Munke

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    5. 6:48 they sell their ass, or yours, christy, as is, bareback too... no welfare check to fall back on...usually...

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    6. Eneone that thrives on the misery of others is a parasite some how. That INCLUDES those that believe that are above the rest. Like.. QUEENS and KINGS for Example..

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    7. So "high class" .. They forgot that once upon a time there great poor, poor parents, were poor. Maybe even "stole" their way to the "high class place", after all it was really easy back then, 1400-1800s.. That's where LOTS of them STOLE thei way to the top.

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    8. Bunch of CHEATS..

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  12. What happen to the news about Emma

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    1. The news about emma, I saw her interview, she filled up pretty good and does not appear to be no Rancherita, not at all, she will get lucky again...

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  13. Lol because when you have a hangover, what you need to do is give your body more alcohol. These bleeding hearts and their weak bullshit are a joke; look, it's simple. A dope fiend is a dope fiend for life... What you do is, you let them OD, and then that's one less to deal with. Oh, yea... You also raise your kids to make sure they aren't dope fiends.

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    1. Oh really? Theres lots of people who quit dope all together for ever. Stop acting like the tough guy we all know you are not.

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    2. you must be whacking out some strong dope to let them all OD wherever you're at

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    3. 8:57 who made you join the ranks of the callous?
      Some of us have lost friends and family, and very few of us taught our children to hook or get hooked on drugs, it is usually their little friends at school, sent by merchants that reward their help with drugs or money, and there is nothing parents can do other than listening to pendejos like you assigning "blame"...pobre cabron tan estupido...

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  14. Was el americano captured? ?

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  15. that is the dumbest idea ive heard if a heroin user overdoses good riddance, we don't need people with no self control in the first place, if you attempt or do drugs then you deserve to overdose

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    1. 9:02 everybody has control, until they don't...
      --May you never have a child on it, believe me, you will be the last to find out, too late...
      --God has a way of humbling big mouths...

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    2. Then your brain deserves to overdose since it produces drugs and uses them. Not much of value will be lost since you don't really use it..

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    3. Well worded:Everyone has control,until they don't.Just like another blogger commented about safety in Mexico:You are safe until you're not.

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  16. Ever seen so many experts on crime and criminality in one place before?So many good people here.
    Why dont all you people go to Ithaca and protest that hellish place and also give your extensive knowledge on the subject?

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    1. we got this dope recovery place near me and you can feel the whack vibes walking past that place it's raw js.

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    2. Real remedy is hard to find, it takes a lot of willpower, and support, while many courageous and opinionated arseholes cut and run, if only after dropping their pearls of ignorance...

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    3. If only, some one dropped the pearls on every single mothafacking liar... Ne sociopath, psychopath, monster out there?

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  17. VERY DISILLUSIONING..
    So many hateful fuckers in here

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  18. This sound like good old racism/political white power/privilege! When some in the "so called minority" community's were using crack,heroin. Let's pass laws/lock them (BROWN PEOPLE) up, but now because the majority of user are white let's get them help/safe place to shoot up/mental help.

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