It's such a fucked situation. You want to help people, at the most basic level the average person is good. Someone overdoses 10 times, you save them 11 so they have one more chance to get better and hopefully not have to be revived for the 12th. But even the most caring and loving of helpers start to get frustrated with the opioid epidemic. The act of administering the NARCAN becomes an act of professional obligation, not personal mission to save lives. Cynicism starts creeping in negating the human side of the victimization that this epidemic has created. Way back when they first got addicted, did the person make a choice to inject that poison? Sure, but none of them want to still be chasing that dragon and quitting isn't as easy, "well just quit!" You watch a colleague breakdown 5 times a week as she thinks of the daughter she couldn't save and then you try and stand firm in an attitude of "stop saving them and the problem will sort itself out." No it won't and fuck you for suggesting that.
I don't know the right answer to save the addicts, stop the epidemic, nor do I know who or how to hold someone responsible. But this whole thing is next level ugly. And it is hitting ALL tax brackets, ALL ethnicities, and ALL IQ levels. My medic friend has to ask "Is there NARCAN available on scene?" as part of the protocol now. The cops are administering NARCAN to anyone they find passed out just in case it is an opioid related thing (needle could be obscured from immediate line of sight and seconds count). Volunteer fire departments are activating grants for doses of NARCAN that exceed the number of citizens in their coverage area due to repeat occurrences with the same residents.
And then with COVID we expect everyone to stay home and just behave and don't do their vices? 2.5 months since the storm here and people don't have electricity, cable, and other services, but they're finding their "heroin" (or whatever its cut with these days). Drug dealers are more reliable than the fucking power company. It's fucked.
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