“Boston logic” is an acceptable addition to the universe of oxymorons comparable to “jumbo shrimp.”
How else would one describe the thought course of that decrees the distribution of meals to the denizens of the Methadone Mile as dangerous, however giving out drug paraphernalia pretty much as good?
As the Herald reported, metropolis officers have been handing out a flyer to organizations and advocates who deliver meals to the individuals who frequent drug-plagued Mass and Cass.
The message: Stop it.
“While well-intentioned, your efforts can lead to harm to community members,” one flyer reads.
Some of the explanations listed: food-distribution automobiles and the crowds they create trigger visitors points on busy Southampton Street; and “Improper disposal of food and packages increases trash and rodent population. This risks the health of community members.”
Contrast that with the marketing campaign to present out pipes for smoking crack and meth and different drug paraphernalia.
The Boston Public Health Commission and different Mass and Cass-area establishments are distributing pipes for smoking crack and meth along with an array of different paraphernalia to this inhabitants.
That consists of “cookers” and tourniquets, all within the identify of “harm reduction.”
Mayor Michelle Wu is on board. “The state-funded syringe services and harm reduction program — which has been in place in Boston since 1994 and in other communities across the state and country —has helped reduce the incidence of communicable diseases and saved lives,” Wu’s workplace stated when requested concerning the efforts.
Wouldn’t it stand to motive, then, that the Mass and Cass disaster ought to be bettering? At the very least, the incidence of overdoses and the like ought to be diminishing. Not so, as CBS News Boston present in 2019. According to Boston Crime Incident Reports, there have been 229 medical or drug-related calls within the Methadone Mile space that yr. In 2018, there have been 185 experiences complete. In 2016, there have been 31.
And for a metropolis that’s involved about meals supply growing trash and boosting the rodent inhabitants, thus risking “the health of community members,” the presence of discarded needles on metropolis streets and native playgrounds ought to warrant no less than the identical diploma of ire as tossed meals wrappers.
That Mass and Cass has grow to be a recirculating fountain of habit points is exemplified by the latest cleanup of the world, dismantling of tents and securing therapy and housing for individuals – just for the tents and drug customers to return.
Why shouldn’t they? This is the place to attain free pipes and clear needles. True, it might be tougher to get a free sandwich, however the eating state of affairs isn’t the Methadone Mile’s massive draw.
It makes one marvel: what’s the finish sport?
As Domingos DaRosa, who’s labored with youngsters within the space and picked up needles within the Mass and Cass neighborhood for years, stated “We’re just giving people the tools to get high. It’s not designed to reduce the population on the street here.”
Those streets, it ought to be famous, don’t simply belong to addicts and the homeless. These neighborhoods are full of households and companies, who need to be protected, to not fear about their baby being caught by a discarded needle whereas enjoying.
That’s the sort of hurt discount Boston must see.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”