Getting Tougher on The Streets
Iraq had, still does have, very good toxicology labs. What it doesn’t have are general practitioners [family doctors] with experience in diagnosing drug addiction.
I noticed some incidence of drug addiction following the Iran-Iraq war.
Now as one might expect there has been a massive upsurge in people trying if only temporarily to escape the unbearable reality that is the American creation of occupied Iraq. Some estimates put percentage of users as high as 2%. Higher in cities of course, much higher in the poorer quearters, higher yet in street children.
Since the start of the year there’s been a massive upswing in the availability of illegal narcotics in the major cities particularly Baghdad:
- Marijuana - prices vary too widely to estimate
- Cocaine - price between US$2 and US$7 per gram depending upon supplier and purity
- Heroin - price again between US$2 and US$7 per gram depending upon supplier and purity
These three are flooding in from Afghanistan. Prescription drugs were decontrolled by the American Bremer occupation regime:
- Valium - A bottle of valium costs US¢50.
- Codeine - A bottle of codeine costs US¢50.
If you can’t afford 50 US cents street sellers sell valium “loose.” A “mouthful” of codeine mixed with “medical alcohol” for the equivalent of US¢10. This last is very popular with street children. Glue sniffing - solvent abuse, is also noticably prevalent among street children in the poorer quarters.
mfi
No tag for this post.
June 26th, 2006 at 8:33 pm
Note:Code and typing mistakes in this posting fixed by me. Blogging with a mobile telephone is obviously not as easy as you might think.
June 26th, 2006 at 9:15 pm
terribly reminiscent of the crack plague in US inner city neighborhoods …
June 26th, 2006 at 11:01 pm
Siun,
A better analogy would be the South American cities. The street kids there get hunted by death squads many of which are organised by and consist exclusively of police officers.
Still very much a problem. There’s a very gutsy English guy called Fred Shortland in Northamptonshire (a county in the UK midlands) who runs an organisation called
Casa Alianza.
He does FANTASTIC work for those kids.
June 27th, 2006 at 1:11 am
I have heard that glue sniffing is popular with children living on the street because it warms you up - any truth to this?
June 27th, 2006 at 2:04 am
Nope not as such depends on the solvent of course. A lot of them stimulate the heart rate which produces the feeling of heat and some act like alcohol by inducing perspiration (which is why drunks sometimes freeze to death) here’s some good info from UCD’s Student’ Union
Solvents
(fast drying glues and adhesives, assorted paint and petroleum products, lighter fluid, dry-cleaning fluids, assorted aerosol sprays, surgical spirit, cleaners etc.)
Solvent abuse involves inhaling the fumes from domestic and industrial products creating a strong intoxication.
Traditionally referred to as ‘glue sniffing’, the vast majority of solvent abusers are between the ages of 11-16 and usually male. The most common method of inhaling solvents is by inhaling them from a plastic bag which is placed over the face.
A feeling of strong intoxication kicks in almost immediately with some users experiencing hallucinations. The effects are short lived, resulting in the prospect of repeated abuse.
Side effects:
Solvent abuse can result in a dazed appearance, unsteadiness, slurred speech and unpredictable behaviour. There is a real risk of vomiting, choking and possibly unconsciousness. At the very least, expect a king size head ache, and a less than handsome red rash around the mouth.
Health risks:
Under the influence of solvents, users can undertake dangerous and reckless acts and be at increased risk from accidents. Long term abuse can lead to a permanent ’sniffer’s rash’, conjunctivitis, liver, heart and kidney damage and in extreme cases, brain damage. Children are at the greatest risk and some have died after trying solvents for the first time
There is no evidence of physical dependence, although psychological dependence can develop.
Solvent abuse accounts for a death rate of over 70 people a year, the vast majority being under 20 years old.
The Law:
Solvent possession or abuse is not a criminal act in itself, although shopkeepers can be fined under the Intoxicating Substances (Supply) Act 1985 if they knowingly sell to an abuser under 18.
That whole page is worth priniting off if you’re a parent.
UCD students’ Union Drug Page
Disclosure one of my lads is in UCD and was asked about this. He does a lot of work for Vincent DePaul on exactly this topic mostly in the area between Dominic Street and Sheriff Street so my citing that page is me pretending I’m in Fianna Fail and engaging in sheer Family Favouritism.
:-)))))
June 27th, 2006 at 4:41 am
Declan - Casa Alianza looks amazing - what good and respectful work.
Do you know the work of Childline India - http://www.childlineindia.org.in/ which was founded to provide an immediate source of aid for the railway children? (there’s a UK Childline which I believe is different)
I learned of it from one of my favorite books - How to Change the World by David Bornstein which describes the work of the Ashoka Fellows and social entrepreneurism. It certainly reminds us that we can all, each, make a significant difference. The book is a great read and Bornstein has been tracing interesting projects like the Grameen Bank for quite a while.
http://www.howtochangetheworld.org/
aside from that, my comment was triggered by my sense of imperialist forces are quite happy to keep people, esp young and potentially troublesome people, drugged
June 27th, 2006 at 5:36 am
Thanks for the info., glad to see that UCD is preparing our young adults to help others. I have fond memories of Belfield. I now remember what I meant to write glue sniffing suppresses hunger -great information thank you to all!
June 27th, 2006 at 7:23 am
Hello Siun,
We don’t mind converting the links but could you please put them so there is a line of whitespace in over them and one under them it makes selecting the text to be converted in the posts easier.
like this
Erdla I am not even a little sympathetic that’s what he gets for being a gorilla with stumpy fingers :-)
O
June 27th, 2006 at 10:41 pm
Hi Omar - will do. I’m just embarassed that my former html skills seem to have vanished!
Time for me to go re-bookmark Webmonkey!
May 7th, 2007 at 5:39 pm
[…] also a report from IRIN earlier this year you should also see this report from markfromireland Getting Tougher on The Streets I get so tired and angry when Iraki exiles who left during the Saddam years and now live in safety […]