Commentary #2

My interest was immediately piqued with your topic of safe injection sites for drug users. Being a social work student, this is a topic that my classes have explored on a few occasions. Of course, it is very controversial and it’s easy to understand why. There are so many facets to the drug use community and each person is different and has their own story. This makes it difficult to have a “one size fits all” approach when it comes to intervention and ultimately trying to help people recover from their drug addiction. We can open as many rehab centers as we like. We can make them as cost-effective (free) as possible. But at the end of the day, rehab centers only help those who are ready to make a change. There is nothing anyone else can do to help someone else reach that point. I notice that you mentioned this as well. However, you also made a comment asking whether the dangers of using on the streets should encourage people to want to get out of that situation. From my understanding, those who suffer from addiction have a battle between risk and reward. In this case, the drugs being the reward. There are multiple studies that also prove drug use, especially repeated drug use, changes the brain and brain chemistry. This can have a severe impact on prioritizing what is important and relevant and what is not. For someone who uses drugs, the reward far outweighs the risk, and in some cases, they don’t recognize the risk at all. Therefore, desire to get out this situation does not register in the same way it would for someone who is sober.

People who use drugs are also at an increased risk of contracting disease and illness. HIV and Hepatitis being two very prevalent and very preventable diseases within the community. Safe injection sites often, as you said, protect from harmful individuals on the streets. However, they also typically provide new needles and proper disposal devices. People who are addicted to drugs will often use any needle available, whether it has been used or not. This spreads disease like wildfire, as we can already assume. Additionally, because there are trained “employees” present, they can also monitor for signs of overdose and get individuals help should such a situation arise. I use quotations because many injection sites are staffed with volunteers and non-profit organizations which negates some of your concern for tax dollars going towards these facilities. If we would like these individuals to have an opportunity to go to a rehab center and recover, we need to make sure they don’t die before they have a chance.

Lastly, I agree that things like reduced education costs and feeding the hungry along with so many other problems in the world, or even just in America, have a need for attention and funds and reform. However, paying attention and aiding one cause does not mean we need to take away from another cause. We can reduce education costs AND help protect the community that uses drugs. Fix healthcare AND prevent disease outbreak among addiction sufferers. There is enough wealth in the world to fix more than one or two causes, we just need those in control of the money to care enough to apply it.

The jury is still out on long-term results of safe injection sites, but I think they are worth a shot. Short-term results are looking pretty promising.

Are Babies Getting the Short End of the Stick?

In 2015, just under 4 million babies were born. A number that has been on the decline since 2007. People are having fewer babies, if they choose to have babies at all, and are waiting longer to have babies than in the past. There are several reported reasons for the decrease and the delay, but a big one is the cost to have a baby. Medical bills pile up before the baby is even born and peak at their birth. Babies need so much, for lack of a better word, stuff! Did we mention how expensive daycare is? A huge contribution to the money stress is that most pregnant people are not likely to receive paid maternity leave after their baby is born. Even unpaid maternity leave is a stretch. Many women are forced to leave their brand-new baby after only six weeks, if they get to wait that long, to head back to work and make money. The knowledge that they have been missing out on half the household income, or in some cases the entire income, since the baby has been born can be a huge stressor on a family.

Around 60% of companies offer maternity leave of up to 12 weeks. Only 33% of companies offer more than 12 weeks. A study in 2016 surveyed companies and it showed that only 12% of those companies offer fully paid leave. Because of the unreliability of maternity leave straight from the employer, many people rely on FMLA or the Family and Medical Leave Act which is enacted at the federal level. This basically ensures the employee's job will still be there for them for up to 12 weeks on leave without penalty. However, this does not mean the employee will receive pay while on leave and the employee/company must meet certain requirements to even qualify.

When we bring other countries into the equation, we quickly see how our leave benefits are truly poor. Eastern Europe is excellent at providing maternity leave. Ranked #1 is Bulgaria with 59 weeks of paid leave. Tied for tenth are Estonia and Poland with 20 weeks of paid leave. If those countries are too far for you to care what they offer, let’s consider Canada. Canada offers up to a year of leave with at least partial pay.

Maybe you’re wondering what, if any, benefits there are to parents having paid leave to be home with their baby. Studies show that paid maternity leave results in a lower infant mortality rate, increases likelihood babies will meet their vaccination schedule, makes breastfeeding easier which increases overall health for baby, and even makes kids less likely to drop out of school in the future. Benefits for parents? Women have lower rates of post-partum depression, as well as decreased rates of depression in later years, and increases family bonding. As for companies, paid leave increases employee retention, and good employees at that. Companies that offer leave policies have happier workers which equal more productive workers. Studies have even shown that paid leave reduces the likelihood a family will need government assistance and helps women stay in the workforce.

Overall, paid maternity leave is beneficial for everyone involved and makes for a happier future. Parents deserve to be home with their babies without the stress of money. Babies deserve to spend at least some of their first year of life with their parents. The benefits are wide and lasting and it’s something the government ought to dedicate some reform towards.