Opioid Court Focuses On Saving Lives

THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC IS HITTING CERTAIN PARTS OF THE COUNTRY
HARD, AND BUFFALO, NEW YORK, IS NO EXCEPTION.
IN FACT, BUFFALO AREA HEALTH OFFICIALS BLAMED 300
DEATHS ON OPIOID OVERDOSES IN 2016,
AND I WAS UP FROM 127 TWO YEARS EARLIER.
THIS IS JUST ONE PART OF ONE STATE IN THE COUNTRY.
AND SO, OFFICIALS AND JUDGES IN THE AREA REALIZED, WE NEED
TO HANDLE THIS IN A DIFFERENT WAY.
WE NEED TO STOP CRIMINALIZING PEOPLE, AND GIVE THEM AN OPTION
TO REHABILITATE THEMSELVES.
AND SO, THEY TOOK ON AN APPROACH TO MONTHS AGO THAT ACTUALLY
HAS PROVEN TO BE PRETTY SUCCESSFUL.
SO THE CITY HAS BEEN EXPERIMENTING WITH THE FIRST
OPIOID CRISIS INTERVENTION COURT, WHICH CAN GET USERS INTO
TREATMENT WITHIN HOURS OF THEIR ARREST INSTEAD OF DAYS.
IT REQUIRES THEM TO CHECK IN WITH A JUDGE EVERY DAY FOR
A MONTH INSTEAD OF ONCE A WEEK, AND PUT THE MONSTER CURFEWS.
SO, KEEP IN MIND THAT THIS IS NOT AN EASY PROGRAM, IT'S
PRETTY STRICT.
ACCEPTANCE INTO THE OPIOID CRISIS COURT MEANS DETOX,
INPATIENT OR OUTPATIENT CARE, 8 PM CURFEWS, AND AT LEAST 30
CONSECUTIVE DAYS OF IN PERSON MEETINGS WITH THE JUDGE.
SO, I LOVE IT.
IT'S WAY PAST TIME.
THERE'S NO REASON TO BE ñ
THERE'S NO REASON TO TREAT THESE PEOPLE AS CRIMINALS.
AND OF COURSE THE REASON BUFFALO STARTED DOING THIS WAS,
THEY WENT, WAIT A MINUTE, THESE GUYS ARE CRIMINALS, THEY
JUST NEEDED HELP, RIGHT?
OF COURSE! AND SO THEY STARTED TALKING ABOUT HOW, THESE ARE ALL
NONVIOLENT GUYS WHO DON'T HAVE A TRACK RECORD OF CRIME, SO I
GUESS THIS MAKES SENSE.
IT MAKES SENSE EVERYWHERE, SOME SUPER HAPPY THEY ARE TRYING IT
IN BUFFALO, AND I'M ñ I HOPE THE PROGRAM SPREADS, BUT WE SHOULD
BE LOCKING PEOPLE UP FOR ANY DRUG ABUSE IN THE FIRST PLACE.
IT IS SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE TREATED, NOT SOMETHING THAT
PRIVATE PRISONS CAN MAKE MONEY OFF OF, OR BY THE WAY HAVE ALL
OF US PAY FOR THEIR IMPRISONMENT, AND MAKE THEIR
SITUATION WORSE, LET ALONE THE CORE OF THE ISSUE, WHICH IS, WHY
ARE WE TAKING THEIR FREEDOM AWAY WHEN THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT
IS A CRIME AGAINST THE REST OF US, THAT SOCIETY NEEDS TO
PUT YOU AWAY FOR SO WE CAN BE SAFE.
NO, IT IS SOMETHING YOU NEED TREATMENT FOR.
AS I MENTIONED, IT STARTED TWO MONTHS AGO, AND THE JUSTICE
DEPARTMENT ACTUALLY ALLOCATED $300,000 FOR THIS PROGRAM, IN
THE FORM OF A GRANT, AND THE RESULTS ARE ALREADY PRETTY
PROMISING.
SO, TWO MONTHS IN, NONE OF THE 80 PEOPLE WHO AGREED TO THE
PROGRAM HAD OVERDOSED, THOUGH ABOUT 10 WARRANTS HAD BEEN
ISSUED FOR MISSED APPEARANCES.
KEEP IN MIND, THEY HAVE TO APPEAR IN FRONT OF A JUDGE
EVERY DAY FOR A MONTH, AND SO IT DOESN'T SURPRISE ME THAT
SOME PEOPLE MISSED AN APPEARANCE.
I DIDN'T ñ I'M NOT EXCUSING IT, BUT THAT IS THE WORST OUTCOME
FROM THIS EXPERIMENT, THEN I WILL TAKE IT.
AND THERE HAVE BEEN A NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO LEFT TESTIFIED ABOUT
THEIR EXPERIENCE SO FAR, AND THEY ARE LIKE, LOOK I REALLY
WANT TO GET BETTER, AND NOW THERE IS A PROGRAM THAT IS
ACTUALLY REALLY HELPING ME INSTEAD OF DEMONIZING ME OR
ANTAGONIZING ME.
ONE I HAD A COURT APPEARANCE AND HE BROUGHT HIM IN WITH
HANDCUFFS, AND HE SAID LOOK, I REALLY APPRECIATE THIS PROGRAM
BECAUSE IF I DIDN'T HAVE TO REPORT IN EVERY DAY YOU WOULD
NOT HAVE COME AND GET ME AND I WOULD HAVE TAKEN FENTANYL AND
DIED IN THE STREETS SO I'M A
LITTLE FRUSTRATED AND TOOK THE
OPIOID SITUATION FOR US TO REALIZE THAT MAYBE WE SHOULDN'T
BE IMPRISONING OUR FELLOW CITIZENS THAT NEED HELP.
I WISH WE'D REALIZED THIS DECADES AGO, BEFORE WE STARTED
MASS INCARCERATION, AND LOCKED AWAY MILLIONS OF PEOPLE, AND I
HOPE THAT WE GO TO ADDRESS THAT INJUSTICE AS WELL.
I DON'T WANT TO JUST HAVE PEOPLE RUNNING IN JAIL FOR TAKING
DRUGS, JUST LIKE THESE FOLKS TOOK DRUGS, BUT FOR GOD
SAKE LET'S AT LEAST GET ON THE RIGHT ROAD NOW, AND BUFFALO
IS A GOOD STEP
IN THAT DIRECTION.

Opioid Court Focuses On Saving Lives

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