By Mansfield Frazier
Tell me where it hurts you, honey
and I’ll tell you who to call
— Bob Dylan, “The Mighty Quinn” – 1967
The alarming statistic that deaths due to heroin overdoses are dramatically on the rise in Cuyahoga County — especially among young white folks — has panicked politicians, treatment specialists, civic leaders and law enforcement. However, if the past is any indication, the panic will simply cause the creation of more failed solutions. Why? Because that’s what we as a nation have always done in terms of drug policy: come up with Draconian or stupid (usually both) legal answers to what is essentially a medical problem.
In 2007, 40 people died in Cuyahoga County from a heroin overdose, and we’re currently on track for 160 people to OD this year… and our solutions? “…[A]n initiative that will include a new website and individual examinations of people who overdosed and died.” Sure, a website; now that will really solve the problem.
To paraphrase Lewis Carroll, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.”
What’s happening in many of these cases is that addicts are going to jail or prison, receiving minimal or no treatment, and once they get out their bodies are vulnerable. Heroin is “accumulative” in the user’s system, which means that over a period of time it takes more and more of the drug to get high. Once the system has been cleansed by forced abstinence the body can only handle a smaller amount of the drug, but inexperienced addicts don’t realize this. When they get out of incarceration they use the same amount of heroin they used before… and wind up killing themselves.
Let’s just suppose for a moment one (or more) of the 160 young people who will OD this year had a moment of clarity, where they came to realize they needed help “fightin’ that giant”… and sought out treatment. What would happen? Unless they (or their parents) had one of those gold-plated healthcare cards in the wallets, nothing would happen. Nothing. Bed space is very limited and very expensive.
When America finally began to get a handle on alcoholism it was because of two Akron alcoholics, Bill W. and Dr. Bob, who formed a mutual aid organization we now know of as Alcoholics Anonymous. A similar program for addicts, Narcotics Anonymous, does exist, but due to the fact opiates are illegal while alcohol is not, it’s been a far more difficult task to make the latter program as effective. But it can be done.
If county officials are really serious about reducing the number of heroin deaths — as well as the number of overall addicts — the first step in my mind would be to provide a safe space (a wing in one of a number of closed hospitals will do) where they can receive three hots and a cot without being grilled by authorities the minute they show up at the door or filling out a foot high stack of documents. And here’s the critically important part: the facility should be staffed exclusively with former addicts who’ve managed to turn their lives around. That kind of peer trust, understanding and mentoring is absolutely critical and essential… what drug counselors need to know to be able to effectively assist this demographic simply cannot be learned exclusively from a book. Perhaps one caring, skilled administrator without a history of addiction could be put in charge of the operation… at least in the initial stages.
The idea of former addicts helping current addicts is nothing new. If you want to see what one former addict was able to accomplish with the aid of a caring social worker go to http://DelanceyStreetFoundation.org. It’s truly an amazing story that can be replicated if we but have the political will.
Now stop that! I want you to stop that right now. Quit trying to come up with every legal reason under the sun why this won’t work right here in Cuyahoga County. Either you come up with a better idea, or get behind this one. Fair enough? But, hey, what does an old ex-junkie like me know?
“King Heroin“
(Attributed to various street poets)
So now little man you’re tired of grass,
LSD, acid, cocaine and hash.
When someone pretending to be a true friend,
said hey, I’ll introduce you to King Heroin.
Well, before you think you’ll start to messing with me,
let me inform you how it’s going to be.
For I will seduce you and make you my slave,
I’ve sent stronger men than you to an early grave.
You think you could never be such a disgrace,
then you end up addicted to poppy seed waste.
You’ll start by inhaling me one afternoon,
then you’ll take me into your arm one day soon.
And if you think you got that dat mystical knack,
come on and try getting me off your back.
The vomits, the cramps, your guts in a knot,
your jangling nerves screamin’ for just one more shot.
The hot chills, the cold sweats, the withdrawal pains,
can only be eased by my little white grains.
There’s no need to lie, no need to look,
for deep down inside you know you are hooked.
You’ll swindle your mother for less than a buck,
You’ll end up an animal vile and corrupt.
You’ll mug and you’ll steal for a narcotic charm,
and only feel content when I’m deep in your arm.
And when you realize the monster you’ve grown,
you’ll solemnly promise to leave me alone.
You’ll give up your morals, your conscience, your heart,
and then you are mine, till death do us part…
From Cool Cleveland correspondent Mansfield B. Frazier mansfieldfATgmail.com. Frazier’s From Behind The Wall: Commentary on Crime, Punishment, Race and the Underclass by a Prison Inmate is available again in hardback. Snag your copy and have it signed by the author by visiting http://www.neighborhoodsolutionsinc.com.
4 Responses to “MANSFIELD: Fightin’ That Giant”
Bill R.
That is one scary poem.
mark K.
Mr. M – your last sentence is a powerful one. How did you kick the habit?
mansfield
I kicked the habit with the aid of a good woman who would not give up on me.
mark K.
Thank you.