Yeah and where do you think the money for these Centres will come from? Maybe we should reduce the social farewell budget to pay for them and in turn take away any monetary support for drug users, after all it might be a ‘health issue’ but it is definitely a crime issue.

Dealers yes, most certainly a crime issue. Addicts, no, unless they are committing a crime. Not just being addicts. If we weren’t so quick to right down loans for aristocrats I’m sure that would cover the cost. Also, how much is it to keep a user who has committed no other crime than possession in prison for a week? That might free up money also. I’m not sure if this would work but I think it’s an ok suggestion.

Addicts who are injecting on the street are criminals unless the tooth fairy is providing free drugs.
Stop with all the heft about debt right-down, it has absolutely NOTHING to do with drug addicts destroying our city centres with thefts, assaults and leaving needles lying around.

Well the drug centres would alleviate the problems you mention for the most part, it takes users out of the public eye and keeps used needles off the streets. To your other point, the suggestion is to decriminalise the purchasing of drugs but to criminalise the selling. These people are addicted to a substance, they aren’t too worried about wether it’s legal or not. It’s a horrendous addiction that supersedes everything else in their lives. The war on drugs has not worked, this approach has.

Let me be the first to say that I do not under ANY circumstances want a drug injecting centre anywhere near me for the very reason you espouse, namely that drug addicts crave the drug above all else. Why would anybody want addicts desperate for money to get drugs anywhere near them. By definition they are likely to commit crimes to get drugs.

And your war on drugs or not having these centres solve that problem in what way exactly? This has been proven to work elsewhere I think it’s reasonable to have a decent debate around it

John, just recently addiction has been re-defined as a chronic brain disorder. You seem to think that everyone with a heroin addiction is the kind of person you hear about “destroying our city centres with thefts, assaults and leaving needles lying around”. You are very much mistaken. There are lots of high functioning heroin addicts. Lots of people who hide away. Lots of people who are afraid to seek out help because some eejits like to tar everybody with the one brush. Your views seem to have been born of some sort of fearmongering, that is your problem, not the people who very desperately need the help.

Drug centres are a great thing and have been a success wherever they have been implemented.

Lock them all up for a few months with nothing but bread and water, should curb the habbit fast enough

Sknik
I have an addictive personality as do approx 50% of the population and in this day and age of giving a name to everything people do as a guise for disorders it comes as no surprise that someone has called it Chronic Brain Disorder. Yes there are functioning addicts but this is about the non-functioning ones using the streets to shoot up.
The difference is people like you exempt addicts and others from personal responsibility when in reality they are bleeding society of much needed funds for pensioners and young families.
Can I presume you would be happy to live next door to one of these injecting centres?

You speak about the streets once again which could be solved by these centres. There’s no quick solution here but something else should definitely be tried as they’ve proven successful in other countries. People make mistakes and bad decision. A friend of mine is an addict who is clean 15 years now, he thinks these treatment rooms are a very good idea.

The backlog of patients waiting operations could be solved by building more hospitals, the homeless crisis could be solved building more houses, the joke of a justice system could be fixed building more prisons but none of this is done because money is not there.
I would guess that 99% of all money spent on drug addicts is wasted and who wants waste.
Once again, ANY VOLUNTEERS to have a drug injecting centre next door to their home?????

The money is there, it just has to be looked at through more than a black and white lens. No body is gonna want these treatment centres beside their homes, that’s clear. So don’t put them beside someone’s home then, very simple. Would people rather their streets are littered with dirty needles and addicts injecting? I’ll put that question to you

No, I think I made it clear that anyone doing that is breaking the law.

So what just lock them up is it? That hasn’t worked or saved any lives, or reduced drug use. It’s called decriminalisation because you make it not against the law. It’s worked elsewhere, I think it’s a great idea. You obviously can’t see why that is but I guess that’s your point of view as a person with experience of addiction

With the solidarity green thumb he gave himself ‘lol’

No Sam I don’t but I guarantee you there will be some homophobic people that will put comments on this article blaming gay people. For god sack I have seen people putting up comments on articles about bad weather blaming gay people. I just saw an opportunity to get in first for a change.

Buckwheat. I just gave you a red tum in the interest of balance. hope you don’t mind

@Rust Do I have to? I’m having so much fun.

It’s isn’t the ’80s…. We know that HIV isn’t necessarily a “gay disease”. People with drug problems who are likely to share needles are at a higher risk of contracting HIV/AIDS than anyone else. Rust is right; get over yourself, it’s embarrassing.

@VinHeffer I am well aware that Hiv / Aids isn’t necessary a gay disease. My point is that on the run up to the marriage equality referendum on a regular basis gay people have been accused in here of causing hiv/Aids. These comments were extremely insulting and the journal delete most of them. So I make no apology for having a go at those homophobs. If you had to listen to a tent of the abuse that I and most gay people of my age had to listen to over the years you would not be telling me to get over myself.

No-one, literally no-one, mention gay people in relation to this story aside from yourself. I’m sorry that you’ve been abused because of your sexuality in the past; it’s regrettable, and frankly sad, that people espouse such attitudes in this day and age towards people who are homosexual. However, that doesn’t mean that you should intentionally seek out confrontation in relation to this when no such confrontation was put to you or any other gay people. With all due respect, it seems to me that in this instance you are projecting your past experience onto this thread; essentially looking for something that wasn’t here in the first place. Again, I’m sorry that you’ve experienced abuse in the past but that’s no reason to deliberately seek out confrontation. Most, and I do say most, sane-minded people would be more likely to equate HIV/AIDS to intravenous drug users with a propensity to share drug paraphernalia than gay people.

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha

Well. I guess that’s me told of then. Now that you have assumed that authority I do hope next time you confront the abusers instead of a tempting to patronise me. How do you know that ”No one, literally no-one, mentioned gay people in relation to this story aside from”myself. I am not saying that they do I don’t know i wasnt watching this tred allday. but I am sure that the journal would have deleted them as soon as they are brought to their attention if they were. If I choose to call out the homophobs that is my choice not yours. why should I assume that non of them would use this story to spu their hate, as they have done so often on previous stories of this nature. After all it is obvious that the drug users a phobia is alive and well by reading some of the above comments. Maybe the fact that I have called them out is the reasons they are quite to day just maybe. They usually run when someone is there to challenge and refute there lies.

Good to know you are out there watching all the treads for haters abusers and homophobes, maybe you had your 15 minuets of referendum fames, and its time to hang up your badge, ( i voted YES) otherwise for those who respect mature and opinionated debates, may think your overbearing and somewhat repetitively boring. There nothing to see here, nobody calling for a HERO

Yes we should not blame those who only want sex if it is bareback, why blame them and that is sarcasm…

Replied to JJSP, Sounds weird by itself alone…

Ok lads I thought I would come back and leave this message that proves my point. Take a look at this article. http://www.thejournal.ie/healy-eames-wi-fi-2195276-Jul2015/ It is completely non LGBT related. The third comment down by InvasionNewsEire reads as
“Just another Journal hack piece on the pro-life people or anyone they deem against their open borders, same-sex marriage or abortion agendas. Journal, change the name to HAX.ie”

Tell me again how the homophobic people don’t jump on the band wagon at every possible opportunity.

Eddie what makes you think that i am watching all the treads for haters abusers and homophobes? That would be a full time Job for more people than just myself . I am glad you voted yes and thank you for that. But If you think that the struggle for gay rights is over because Ireland voted yes you are mistaking by a long shot. In countries like Russia it is a criminal offense to even mention the word gay in ear shot of anybody under the age of 18 as it can be deemed as promoting non traditional relationships. In some states in America it is still legal to send children for so called conversion therapy which as been deemed by the American physiological association as detrimental to the mental health of lgbt children. There is still over 100 countries world wide where it is a criminal offense to be gay. Ten of which to be gay is punishable by the death plenty. So I am sorry if you feel that i am “overbearing and somewhat repetitively boring” But it will be a while yet before I hang up my badge as I believe there still is a need to create awareness of lgbt rights. Your claim that there is nothing to see here unfortunately is not true. All that I am doing is highlighting the issue when and where I can. And no I do not see my self as a hero for doing that. In fact I am quite ashamed that I don’t do more.

Invasion News Ireland is, quite literally, a fascist; that person doesn’t just hate gay people, that person hates basically everyone that doesn’t share his far right views. By presenting the ignorant and myopic views of a nazi, you haven’t proven anything, you’ve simply presented the views of a nazi. The views of that poster are not representative of 99.9% of people who use and comment on the Journal.

Also; if you spend all day watching the comment section in a vain attempt to curtail this seemingly rampant homophobia I’d suggest you get a hobby, go outside, whatever. Looking for hatred isn’t good for the mind and promotes siege mentality.