Hochul anti-drug task force continues ineffective trend

Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon called Gov. Kathy Hochul about fentanyl last week, and he’s absolutely right: She’s once again trying to avoid the toughest problems.

In the local part of the national crisis, hundreds of New Yorkers die of drug overdoses; shameless drug addicts take to the streets.

Yet so-called New York experts, including public health officials, continue to insist on “risk reduction” strategies that are worse than unnecessary because they encourage addiction.

It is therefore natural that Hochul created an OD prevention task force composed exclusively of 17 “experts” from different state agencies.

It’s a task prank call.

Hence McMahon’s decision last week, blaming the government for failing to include officials and family members directly affected by the crisis. Not even a law enforcement official.

Her prank comes a year after she vetoed a bill to create a state fentanyl-fighting task force, at which time she promised to create one herself.

“After months and months of talk, the Governor has made the groundbreaking decision to ask her own staff to simply do their jobs: discuss the issue amongst themselves and check their own performance in handling the overdose crisis before provide recommendations. McMahon said.

“They will only meet a handful of times, but always apart and away from the pain and suffering of the Staten Islanders, with the exception of a ‘public listening session’ which will be treated as nothing. more than ticking a box.”

We are not sure any of them a working group would be a great step forward, but this one is doomed to failure. Missing are all those who have felt the devastating consequences of drug abuse: mothers, brothers and front-line professionals touched by the scourge of opioid abuse and with first-hand experience of what is drug abuse. doesn’t work.

All this, while the public health bureaucracy pursues the same principle, even in the face of tranquility.

Again: the incremental “harm reduction” approach focuses on “how to take drugs safely”, when the only goal that has any hope of working is “don’t touch drugs that will ruin your very life”. if they don’t kill you” (in addition to cutting off the supply).

Indeed, progressive logic leads to legalization, ‘solving’ the problem by pretending it is not a problem, except through the need for more ‘support’ for drug addicts.

No: some carrots can be useful, but you won’t get anywhere without lots of sticks as well.

New York and the nation must struggle fentanyl (and tranq), don’t give up and “learn to live with it”.