Six-year-old reportedly pricked with syringe on Dublin Bus 80

RobYourBuilder

Gardaí have confirmed that they are investigating an incident in which a six-year-old boy is said to have been pricked by a syringe on a Dublin Bus.

The incident occurred on the 66B bus last Friday evening close to the Liffey Valley Shopping Centre on the N4.

Emergency services attended the scene and the boy was taken to Tallaght Hospital where he underwent a series of tests.

Gardaí say his injuries were not life threatening.

Gardaí at Ronanstown are investigating and are liaising with Dublin Bus on the matter.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0116/673173-syringe-dublin-bus/

Hopefully it wasn't a used syringe. Otherwise the parents have a nightmare of a few months ahead of them.

Junkies don't give a damn about themselves, so they aren't going to consider others when they disgard their paraphernalia. The Swiss have the right idea:

On the face of it, giving drug addicts free heroin is a contentious move, but that is exactly what happens in Switzerland.

A referendum last year was overwhelmingly passed to approve the program, which has been running for years as a trial.

It gives security to a system designed for those addicts who have failed all other treatment options. But it is not without its critics.

On an early morning in the heroin clinic, addicts line up for their turn to receive a syringe with a carefully measured dose of pure heroin.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-12-19/swiss-drug-addicts-given-free-heroin/1184806

If they want to bang up, let them do it in safe secure areas away from the general public.

Here's hoping the kid gets the all clear.

El_Dangeroso

I'm in favour of the swiss system. The main aim is harm reduction to both addicts themselves and society around them.

Harsher punishments don't work and this has been proven time and again.

SweetChaos

The swiss system would be good here anything would have to be an improvement on Ireland's current way of treating addicts it would definitely stop the risk of having needles on our public transports

Hope that child is ok

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

I'm in favour of the swiss system. The main aim is harm reduction to both addicts themselves and society around them.

Harsher punishments don't work and this has been proven time and again.

I'd be in favour of it too but i couldn't see it working well in this country for several reasons.

1) there's an addict and the government want to give it for free ? nah must be a set up to get arrested / must be fake / might charge for it etc.

2) they do get an injection and "dats not enuf, gimme more 4 fuks sake" and a fight breaks out in a dangerous situation with needles and other medical equipment.

3) a large amount of drugs in one place overnight ? might be a target for a break-in to steal drugs and sell them. (which would be pointless if its being given away for free but these lads aren't exactly the smartest bunch)

im sure there's more to think of but thats just the top of my head anyway

Just as another note for the driver of the vehicle... it is very difficult to see what people are doing behind seats etc. so it would be great for people to come up and say it as its happening i.e "that bloke or bird has a needle and using it openly" and not wait until your leaving the bus and the action has stopped and needle hidden for a child to find it later on like what happened.

I do hope the child is ok but how did the parent also let it happen ?

Kermit.de.frog

Ok gonna play devils advocate

Wouldn't it be better to arrest and put junkies in to a large detainment center down the country away from populated areas? That might solve the problem quicker than the nice way of doing it.

Dravokivich

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime wrote: »

3) a large amount of drugs in one place overnight ? might be a target for a break-in to steal drugs and sell them. (which would be pointless if its being given away for free but these lads aren't exactly the smartest bunch)

Someone will always want more. If such a system was to be implemented here, it'll need to be managed on a very strict quota per user. There'll still be people buying more.

SEPT 23 1989

Dublin Bus need to provide needle bins for their unwell customers

Dravokivich

Kermit.de.frog wrote: »

Ok gonna play devils advocate

Wouldn't it be better to arrest and put junkies in to a large detainment center down the country away from populated areas? That might solve the problem quicker than the nice way of doing it.

That's not devils advocate.

Kermit.de.frog

Dravokivich wrote: »

That's not devils advocate.

It is for anyone of the left persuasion where punishment is replaced by rehabilitation.

seamus

The Swiss system creates a strange drug culture. Admittedly I was there in 1998 so policy may have changed since, but my main memory of Berne back then was junkies, everywhere. Any side street, or pedestrian walkway, you would find either a group of junkies sitting around cooking up, shooting up and snorting cocaine in broad daylight, or you would just find needles and other rubbish littering the side of the road/path. Bloody tissues, broken needles, full needles, bent spoons, the whole shebang.
You will occasionally find the odd bit of waste around in Dublin, but typically they try so hard to hide themselves that you don't encounter it as an every day thing.

One of our group sat down on the edge of a fountain in a major public square, close the government building, and got pricked by a used needle that had been discarded there.

Maybe the same numbers shoot up here - I haven't heard anyone say that Switzerland has a major drug abuse problem - but it didn't seem to me that the Swiss policies around drug use really solved any problems. People still abused drugs, but they did it openly, putting people at a higher risk and arguably leaving the general public feeling more threatened.

Kermit.de.frog wrote: »

Wouldn't it be better to arrest and put junkies in to a large detainment center down the country away from populated areas? That might solve the problem quicker than the nice way of doing it.

Pretty expensive. It also doesn't solve the problem really except to encourage users to get even more clever (or violent) about protecting themselves from arrest.
If they were threatened with solitary confinement, a drug abuser might think that stabbing the member of the public who happened to stumble down the wrong laneway is the only way to protect themselves from being locked up.

Timberrrrrrrr

Kermit.de.frog wrote: »

Ok gonna play devils advocate

Wouldn't it be better to arrest and put junkies in to a large detainment center down the country away from populated areas? That might solve the problem quicker than the nice way of doing it.

So a concentration camp for drug addicts?

AnimalChin

Timberrrrrrrr wrote: »

So a concentration camp for drug addicts?

Bingo! Now we're talkin'.

Gummy Panda

Timberrrrrrrr wrote: »

So a concentration camp for drug addicts?

Work will set them free

punisher5112

I have found syringes in playgrounds, parks, housing estates lots of places and I would recommend anyone to look before they sit down because they leave them usually down the side of the seats closest to window.

These tools have places where they can shoot up its a place called the free house they are given that we all pay for but they choose to score wherever they can.

City centre is full of them and free bus travel sure no wonder they would be doing it on that as they go buy gear and move on.

Blue lights should be fitted upstairs mid to rear for night but not much use for when they are at it during the day.

Hopefully the cctv will catch the c#nt.

nokia69

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

I'm in favour of the swiss system. The main aim is harm reduction to both addicts themselves and society around them.

Harsher punishments don't work and this has been proven time and again.

what harsh punishments do we have in Ireland ?

it actually very hard to get jail in Ireland

corner of hells

punisher5112 wrote: »

I have found syringes in playgrounds, parks, housing estates lots of places and I would recommend anyone to look before they sit down because they leave them usually down the side of the seats closest to window.

These tools have places where they can shoot up its a place called the free house they are given that we all pay for but they choose to score wherever they can.

City centre is full of them and free bus travel sure no wonder they would be doing it on that as they go buy gear and move on.

Blue lights should be fitted upstairs mid to rear for night but not much use for when they are at it during the day.

Hopefully the cctv will catch the c#nt.

What's the blue light for ?

corner of hells

corner of hells wrote: »

What's the blue light for ?

makes it harder to find a vein apparently. Lots of cafes have them in the loo's as well

nokia69

corner of hells wrote: »

What's the blue light for ?

harder to find a vein to inject

Wabbit Ears

Gummy Panda wrote: »

Work will set them free

That's gas that is!!

junior_apollo

nokia69 wrote: »

what harsh punishments do we have in Ireland ?

it actually very hard to get jail in Ireland

No no, you are just thinking of the obvious things that you 'should' go to jail for... drugs, violence, banking fraud etc
Don't pay your T.V. license though... BOOM... jail

To Elland Back

Kermit.de.frog wrote: »

Ok gonna play devils advocate

Wouldn't it be better to arrest and put junkies in to a large detainment center down the country away from populated areas? That might solve the problem quicker than the nice way of doing it.

Nobody outside Dublin takes drugs, ye can keep them where ye are thanks all the same

corner of hells

Jake1 wrote: »

makes it harder to find a vein apparently. Lots of cafes have them in the loo's as well

nokia69 wrote: »

harder to find a vein to inject

Ah I'm with you , this might surprise you both because of my earlier comment about the blue light. Ive worked in drug services, needle exchanges for years particularly with chaotic
addicts and its unlikely an addict would attempt to inject on a moving bus , however more experienced addicts would not be deterred by blue lights .

Most addicts unless their veins are really bad can find places to inject very easily an example being the femoral artery , others check the colour of blood in the barrel , others carry small torches if their rough sleepers.

I know a lot addicts but I wouldn't have any time for whoever left that spike on the bus.

Photo-Sniper

This is rotten.

Their is a cigarette machine down the road from my apartment, thats not really a cigarette machine at all.. You throw in your two euro and out pops a heavily packed, sanitized syringe.

This is the way forward. Heroin addicts dont want to be involved in a life of crime etc. Its a sickness and if we can help them stay a little bit cleaner I think its a good thing, rather than bad.

corner of hells

corner of hells wrote: »

Ah I'm with you , this might surprise you both because of my earlier comment about the blue light. Ive worked in drug services, needle exchanges for years particularly with chaotic
addicts and its unlikely an addict would attempt to inject on a moving bus , however more experienced addicts would not be deterred by blue lights .

Most addicts unless their veins are really bad can find places to inject very easily an example being the femoral artery , others check the colour of blood in the barrel , others carry small torches if their rough sleepers.

I know a lot addicts but I wouldn't have any time for whoever left that spike on the bus.

It did surprise me as I knew of your line of work.

Huge respect for the work you do. I coudnt do it.

Vic_08

seamus wrote: »

The Swiss system creates a strange drug culture. Admittedly I was there in 1998 so policy may have changed since, but my main memory of Berne back then was junkies, everywhere. Any side street, or pedestrian walkway, you would find either a group of junkies sitting around cooking up, shooting up and snorting cocaine in broad daylight, or you would just find needles and other rubbish littering the side of the road/path. Bloody tissues, broken needles, full needles, bent spoons, the whole shebang.
You will occasionally find the odd bit of waste around in Dublin, but typically they try so hard to hide themselves that you don't encounter it as an every day thing.

One of our group sat down on the edge of a fountain in a major public square, close the government building, and got pricked by a used needle that had been discarded there.

Maybe the same numbers shoot up here - I haven't heard anyone say that Switzerland has a major drug abuse problem - but it didn't seem to me that the Swiss policies around drug use really solved any problems. People still abused drugs, but they did it openly, putting people at a higher risk and arguably leaving the general public feeling more threatened.

Make it legal to purchase from authorised centres and to shoot up there or in private but illegal to do so in any public place. The punishment for breaking that law to be an instant detention of 72 hours in a padded cell with only food and water, the threat of enforced cold turkey will soon learn them to keep their crap out of public view.

The drug war has failed in every country on the planet, continuing with the same legal approach that does not work is just stupid.

The really frustrating thing is that whenever the topic comes up the usual handwringers come out with everything from bleeding heart concern for the junkies to childish nonsense suggesting that legalisation will lead to a massive increase in addiction.

By far the most destructive aspect of illegal drugs is the criminality that has grown up to supply and pay for it, everything from the junkies stealing to pay for it up to the cartels laying waste to entire countries in order to continue making money from producing it and the millions of people in between whose lives are destroyed by it.

The biggest joke of all is the huge amount of public funds wasted in policing it which while on the surface fighting drug producers are actually creating the business model that allows them to become very rich and powerful.

Legalise it, regulate it, allow the drug companies that already manufacture opiates to produce heroin and supply it to users at the dirt cheap price that it actually costs to manufacture. They will easily be able to support their habit on the dole without needing to engage in criminality.

Provide quality support for those who want to quit and leave the rest to it, they will be scrounging off society to support their lifestyle but they do that already at a much higher cost.

There is no perfect solution but there are better ways to deal with it than the utter failure that criminalisation is now.

corner of hells

Jake1 wrote: »

It did surprise me as I knew of your line of work.

Huge respect for the work you do. I coudnt do it.

Im half asleep.
Seriously in every place Ive worked hostels , exchanges , drop in centres etc Ive never seen blhe florescent lights .

corner of hells

Jake1 wrote: »

It did surprise me as I knew of your line of work.

Huge respect for the work you do. I coudnt do it.

Im half asleep.
Seriously in every place Ive worked hostels , exchanges , drop in centres etc Ive never seen blhe florescent lights .

Photo-Sniper

Photo-Sniper wrote: »

This is rotten.

Their is a cigarette machine down the road from my apartment, thats not really a cigarette machine at all.. You throw in your two euro and out pops a heavily packed, sanitized syringe.

This is the way forward. Heroin addicts dont want to be involved in a life of crime etc. Its a sickness and if we can help them stay a little bit cleaner I think its a good thing, rather than bad.

Im all for them getting clean nicely packaged syringes, its the euphoria after thy shoot up , when they dont give a fook and drop the syringe and leave it for others to get poked with, that I have a problem with.

corner of hells

corner of hells wrote: »

Im half asleep.
Seriously in every place Ive worked hostels , exchanges , drop in centres etc Ive never seen blhe florescent lights .

Thats probably beause they now if they are caught in these places, there would be a problem.

One cafe off top of my head is in Abbey Street, beside Penneys side door. They have had them years, because of the problems they had been getting.

corner of hells

Jake1 wrote: »

Thats probably beause they now if they are caught in these places, there would be a problem.

One cafe off top of my head is in Abbey Street, beside Penneys side door. They have had them years, because of the problems they had been getting.

Its a given though that addicts use in hostels etc ,all provide sin bins for used spikes and all experienced staff will secretly admit that it safer for addicts if they overdose near staff with CPR and AED.Its illegal to facilitate drug use but its a kind of grey area too.

Vic_08

corner of hells wrote: »

Ah I'm with you , this might surprise you both because of my earlier comment about the blue light. Ive worked in drug services, needle exchanges for years particularly with chaotic
addicts and its unlikely an addict would attempt to inject on a moving bus , however more experienced addicts would not be deterred by blue lights .

Most addicts unless their veins are really bad can find places to inject very easily an example being the femoral artery , others check the colour of blood in the barrel , others carry small torches if their rough sleepers.

I know a lot addicts but I wouldn't have any time for whoever left that spike on the bus.

That is exactly the sort of naïve bull I fully expect from someone who works with addicts, sure aren't most of them good lads really?

No they aren't.

They are nothing more than putrid addicts whose lives are 100% selfish, their only concerns are getting their fix and the well being of anyone else and society at large is nowhere in their thought process.

Disease, addiction, weak willed, broken home, poverty, blah blah blah. I don't give a fukc the reasons or justifications or emotional pleas from their mummy describing how Anto was a good little boy and was never any trouble (apart from the 100s of robberies committed which weren't really his fault) etc.

You can humanise them all you like but to everyone else who has to go about their day contributing to society they are nothing more than filthy parasites whose presence only worsens our lives.

The simple truth is they contribute nothing to society while sucking up huge amounts of public resources and leaving a trail of destruction wherever they go all while funding a massive criminal network that is a blight on civilisation.


Oh and as for them not shooting up/smoking on public transport, I worked for years in the bus industry and that is totally incorrect, it is a huge problem and many cleaners, drivers and maintenance staff have been stuck by discarded needles over the years. In many companies only people wearing special stick-proof gloves are allowed clean passenger areas of vehicles.

corner of hells

corner of hells wrote: »

Its a given though that addicts use in hostels etc ,all provide sin bins for used spikes and all experienced staff will secretly admit that it safer for addicts if they overdose near staff with CPR and AED.Its illegal to facilitate drug use but its a kind of grey area too.

Oh ok, I did not know that. I assumed it was forbidden, because I had heard of some hostels banning alcohol.

Makes sense now you have explained the reason .

corner of hells

Jake1 wrote: »

Oh ok, I did not know that. I assumed it was forbidden, because I had heard of some hostels banning alcohol.

Makes sense now you have explained the reason .

No you are right , drug use isn't allowed.Most hostels don't allow alcohol either , though there are a few wet hostels.

corner of hells

Jake1 wrote: »

Oh ok, I did not know that. I assumed it was forbidden, because I had heard of some hostels banning alcohol.

Makes sense now you have explained the reason .

No you are right , drug use isn't allowed.Most hostels don't allow alcohol either , though there are a few wet hostels.

MRnotlob606

Kermit.de.frog wrote: »

Ok gonna play devils advocate

Wouldn't it be better to arrest and put junkies in to a large detainment center down the country away from populated areas? That might solve the problem quicker than the nice way of doing it.

Possibly one of the most dumbest comments I've ever seen , it's counter-intuitive. Treating junkies like criminals isn't going to work.

corner of hells

Vic_08 wrote: »

That is exactly the sort of naïve bull I fully expect from someone who works with addicts, sure aren't most of them good lads really?

No they aren't.

They are nothing more than putrid addicts whose lives are 100% selfish, their only concerns are getting their fix and the well being of anyone else and society at large is nowhere in their thought process.

Disease, addiction, weak willed, broken home, poverty, blah blah blah. I don't give a fukc the reasons or justifications or emotional pleas from their mummy describing how Anto was a good little boy and was never any trouble (apart from the 100s of robberies committed which weren't really his fault) etc.

You can humanise them all you like but to everyone else who has to go about their day contributing to society they are nothing more than filthy parasites whose presence only worsens our lives.

The simple truth is they contribute nothing to society while sucking up huge amounts of public resources and leaving a trail of destruction wherever they go all while funding a massive criminal network that is a blight on civilisation.


Oh and as for them not shooting up/smoking on public transport, I worked for years in the bus industry and that is totally incorrect, it is a huge problem and many cleaners, drivers and maintenance staff have been stuck by discarded needles over the years. In many companies only people wearing special stick-proof gloves are allowed clean passenger areas of vehicles.

Is the traffic heavy today ? , Im working later.

Bootros Bootros

The Swiss system is pretty much what we have with methadone.

Philo Beddoe

Vic_08 wrote: »

Oh and as for them not shooting up/smoking on public transport, I worked for years in the bus industry and that is totally incorrect, it is a huge problem and many cleaners, drivers and maintenance staff have been stuck by discarded needles over the years.

Were you a Dublin Bus driver?

Gatling

Euthanasia should be an option , everything else has been completely failed including methadone .
That or ban junkies from public transport

RobYourBuilder

Kermit.de.frog wrote: »

Ok gonna play devils advocate

Wouldn't it be better to arrest and put junkies in to a large detainment center down the country away from populated areas? That might solve the problem quicker than the nice way of doing it.

Bonkers idea.

There are an estimated 20,000 heroin addicts in Ireland, with 10,000 men and women on a methadone programme and just 38 detox beds nationwide for treatment.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/75-of-dublin-heroin-addicts-also-hooked-on-other-drugs-study-finds-232532.html

Where are you going to put them all? How are you going to finance it? Security alone would probably cost €100s of million.

The One Doctor

OP do you just read online media all day and stick threads up for our opinions? It's surprising how different people's opinions are about stories in the media. Personally I couldn't give a crap about any of the news stories people post up now matter how terrible they are. Do you really, really care this much about the news? Or are you a journalist looking for extra clicks? You do realise that the media makes money from you reading about other people's suffering, right?

SMJSF

SEPT 23 1989 wrote:

Dublin Bus need to provide needle bins for their unwell customers

they aren't customers, more than likely they have a bus card - Dublin bus don't get a cent from them!!

UCDVet

MRnotlob606 wrote: »

Possibly one of the most dumbest comments I've ever seen , it's counter-intuitive. Treating junkies like criminals isn't going to work.

It actually *would* work. If taken to the extreme, it would be very effective at keeping criminals out. It's just a question of what kind of society you'd want to be apart of.

If you sent someone away for life for a minor drug offence, you'd certainly see a reduction in drug related crime. In any given population there are plenty of people who just have no desire to use illicit drugs, a smaller population who would enjoy using them responsibly, and a smaller still population of those who will become addicts and have serious problems with drugs.

Most of those who have run-ins with the law are in the 3rd group. Most are repeat offenders. If you have VERY HARSH penalties, they're removed from the general population.

The biggest problem is what to do with them once you put them in prison. If you let them back out, odds are they're even more dangerous and more likely to re-offend.

Take the US as an example. They have some of the highest incarceration rates in the world. But what happens when they let the prisoners out?

Within five years - 77% of them are back in prison.
(http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/press/rprts05p0510pr.cfm)

Add to it the fact that, for any given crime, the odds of getting caught are less than 100% - you end up in situation where a small percentage of people are committing many crimes, getting caught, going to prison, getting out, committing many more crimes, getting caught, going to prison, getting out.

30% of criminals in the US have *TEN OR MORE* arrests. And again, you could spend months or even years committing crimes before you get arrested.

If they just DIDN'T let anyone out, or in the extreme, put them to death, you'd never have any repeat offenders. It would be incredibly effective.

What *isn't* effective is 'kinda-harsh' justice systems. Like the US has. It's harsh enough that if you go to jail in the US (and aren't rich) you're chance at a normal, middle class life is gone. With a felony you'll never be able to do lots of things and getting any job that doesn't suck will be much harder for you than anyone else. You'll have have a several year gap on your CV while you were in the slammer. And while in the slammer you grew accustom to a different type of life than you'd hope to have as a normal citizen. When you get out, you're much better equipped to be a criminal than an office worker.