Access to drug related information

Odysseus

I have pre-empted this post with a PM to one of the mods as this is a difficult topic, but over my time on boards I have seen people request basic information in relation to drugs of abuse, one guy asking if he could access syringes OTC which resulted in a locked thread and no info.

We all know people will use drugs, always have always will. First text I recommend to students is Living with Drugs well the title says it all. Anyway the guy in the thread above was a vistor to Ireland so why not supply the info around the HSE Addiction Services and Needle Exchange Programmes. I spoke to Dr Indy about it at the time and he acknowledged he locked it as he was coming at it from a preventitive viewpoint rather than a harm reduction one.

Then there was the thread last week about cannabis detection, sadly this guy asked in the first person rather than a general question. However, I can't see any issue with a person asking a general question like that and been given a general answer rather than a locked thread.

We know the difference between advice and information, if those guys had rang any clinic their questions would have been answered immediately. I was talking my own GP around the treatment of "drug users" by professionals in Ireland the other day with us both agreeing there is something very wrong with it.

So the question really is what do people here think about it? I think I made my own position clear, we do give out general information around various services and topics should we continue to exclude drug use?

DrIndy

I think you have very succintly put a very salient point.

Harm reduction is of course critical if prevention cannot be achieved and I remember our discussion on the matter via PM quite well and it certainly changed the way I thought about it.

I'm going to have a chat about this being a more open policy across other forums.

Odysseus

DrIndy wrote: »

I think you have very succintly put a very salient point.

Harm reduction is of course critical if prevention cannot be achieved and I remember our discussion on the matter via PM quite well and it certainly changed the way I thought about it.

I'm going to have a chat about this being a more open policy across other forums.

Cheers thanks for that, I remember that the person was a tad disrepectful towards you via PM and of course that is not right. However, as you know yourself denying someone that type of info can have very serious consequences.

Of course we are not talking about advice, but think anout the thread here on Hep B, plenty of helpful respect educational info there and its something like that I'm thinking of rather than rather than whats the best way to use MST IV type of thing.

I'm not sure how it would work out in relation to boards that's where you guys know best. However, I reckon that the cannabis detection thread would not be locked in say AH, but that is a completely different place:eek:

However, all I'm asking for is a discussion about it so thanks for your response.