Wednesday, 31 August 2011
Meghan Ralston: An Open Letter to CA Governor Jerry Brown on International Overdose Awareness Day
Dear Governor Brown,
No other state in the country endures as many annual deaths from accidental drug overdose as California. In sheer numbers of lives lost, California bears the tragic, and embarrassing, distinction of being "number one." August 31 is International Overdose Awareness Day and I'm hoping this is the day you will commit to leading us out of this needless tragedy.
Like so many of us, some of your friends have battled addiction for many years. I'm certain you're thankful that they're still here to keep fighting, keep trying to get it right. Your loved ones are still alive--you're lucky, and they're lucky. But this year alone, tens of thousands of American families won't share your good fortune. Their luck will run out. If recent national trends are any indication, by the year's end approximately 28,000 people will have died prematurely from a preventable fatal drug overdose. In 16 states, accidental drug overdose is the single leading cause of accidental death, claiming more lives than motor vehicle crashes. The majority of these deaths involve prescription opioid painkillers.
We urgently need your leadership on this issue right here and now. We need to let Californians know that solutions exist. We need to pass AB 472, the "911 Good Samaritan" overdose death prevention bill, and start a statewide conversation about the myriad solutions to the problem.
Tackling the problem of accidental fatal drug overdose is complicated. There isn't a single magic bullet that will save all lives. Of course we need to expand access to a range of affordable, effective drug treatment programs, including medications like methadone. Of course we need to educate physicians about the responsible prescribing of opioid medications. But these solutions alone won't end the crisis. They can't prevent a college student from dying at a party if his friends panic when they can't wake him up. We need a range of solutions. Fortunately, one of them costs taxpayers nothing and is ready for your signature: Assemblymember Ammiano's AB 472, California's "911 Good Samaritan" bill.
By providing the 911 caller and the overdose victim with limited immunity from arrest for possession of a small amount of drugs or paraphernalia, AB 472 will make it much easier, and far more likely, for a panicking bystander to call for emergency assistance. These are the lowest level drug crimes versus the highest human impulse--the desire to sustain life.
Research repeatedly proves that the main reason people hesitate or fail to call 911 during an overdose is their fear of arrest. New Mexico, Connecticut, Washington and New York have already enacted similar laws that encourage people to do the right thing when someone's life is on the line. These policies prioritize pragmatism over ideology, and the net result is more lives saved and, not incidentally, more people able to pursue recovery.
We can support solutions like expanding access to the generic drug naloxone, the very low cost overdose reversal drug with absolutely no potential for abuse. When administered to someone experiencing an overdose on an opiate drug like OxyContin or heroin, it restores respiration and consciousness. It's been our country's first line of defense in ambulances and emergency rooms for more than 40 years. In the hands of trained medical professionals and laypersons with access to it, naloxone has saved thousands of lives, but could be saving countless more--if people knew it existed, knew to ask their doctors about it, and knew where to find it.
While we all agree that we ought to do everything in our power to prevent our loved ones, especially our youth, from using dangerous drugs, we also know that many will, despite our most concerted efforts. We have to find ways of keeping them alive, even when they use drugs.
Governor, please stand in solidarity with the thousands of Californian families working to solve the problems of addiction and overdose. For many of them, International Overdose Awareness Day is not merely symbolic--it's a day when they unite in common purpose to help save lives. Please sign AB 472 and demonstrate to the country that California's overdose epidemic ends with your leadership.
Meghan Ralston is the Harm Reduction coordinator for the Drug Policy Alliance.
@'AlterNet'
No other state in the country endures as many annual deaths from accidental drug overdose as California. In sheer numbers of lives lost, California bears the tragic, and embarrassing, distinction of being "number one." August 31 is International Overdose Awareness Day and I'm hoping this is the day you will commit to leading us out of this needless tragedy.
Like so many of us, some of your friends have battled addiction for many years. I'm certain you're thankful that they're still here to keep fighting, keep trying to get it right. Your loved ones are still alive--you're lucky, and they're lucky. But this year alone, tens of thousands of American families won't share your good fortune. Their luck will run out. If recent national trends are any indication, by the year's end approximately 28,000 people will have died prematurely from a preventable fatal drug overdose. In 16 states, accidental drug overdose is the single leading cause of accidental death, claiming more lives than motor vehicle crashes. The majority of these deaths involve prescription opioid painkillers.
We urgently need your leadership on this issue right here and now. We need to let Californians know that solutions exist. We need to pass AB 472, the "911 Good Samaritan" overdose death prevention bill, and start a statewide conversation about the myriad solutions to the problem.
Tackling the problem of accidental fatal drug overdose is complicated. There isn't a single magic bullet that will save all lives. Of course we need to expand access to a range of affordable, effective drug treatment programs, including medications like methadone. Of course we need to educate physicians about the responsible prescribing of opioid medications. But these solutions alone won't end the crisis. They can't prevent a college student from dying at a party if his friends panic when they can't wake him up. We need a range of solutions. Fortunately, one of them costs taxpayers nothing and is ready for your signature: Assemblymember Ammiano's AB 472, California's "911 Good Samaritan" bill.
By providing the 911 caller and the overdose victim with limited immunity from arrest for possession of a small amount of drugs or paraphernalia, AB 472 will make it much easier, and far more likely, for a panicking bystander to call for emergency assistance. These are the lowest level drug crimes versus the highest human impulse--the desire to sustain life.
Research repeatedly proves that the main reason people hesitate or fail to call 911 during an overdose is their fear of arrest. New Mexico, Connecticut, Washington and New York have already enacted similar laws that encourage people to do the right thing when someone's life is on the line. These policies prioritize pragmatism over ideology, and the net result is more lives saved and, not incidentally, more people able to pursue recovery.
We can support solutions like expanding access to the generic drug naloxone, the very low cost overdose reversal drug with absolutely no potential for abuse. When administered to someone experiencing an overdose on an opiate drug like OxyContin or heroin, it restores respiration and consciousness. It's been our country's first line of defense in ambulances and emergency rooms for more than 40 years. In the hands of trained medical professionals and laypersons with access to it, naloxone has saved thousands of lives, but could be saving countless more--if people knew it existed, knew to ask their doctors about it, and knew where to find it.
While we all agree that we ought to do everything in our power to prevent our loved ones, especially our youth, from using dangerous drugs, we also know that many will, despite our most concerted efforts. We have to find ways of keeping them alive, even when they use drugs.
Governor, please stand in solidarity with the thousands of Californian families working to solve the problems of addiction and overdose. For many of them, International Overdose Awareness Day is not merely symbolic--it's a day when they unite in common purpose to help save lives. Please sign AB 472 and demonstrate to the country that California's overdose epidemic ends with your leadership.
Meghan Ralston is the Harm Reduction coordinator for the Drug Policy Alliance.
@'AlterNet'
overdosegirl overdosegirl
Love, respect & gratitude to the Australians, especially Sally Finn--the woman who started Overdose Awareness Day there 11 yrs ago.
Love, respect & gratitude to the Australians, especially Sally Finn--the woman who started Overdose Awareness Day there 11 yrs ago.
Take Action
US Overdose Awareness Day Events
International Overdose Awareness Day 2011
Overdose Awareness Day has a number of aims:
It hopes to lay bare the stigma associated with drug use.
To include overdoses that are heroin related, but also overdoses from alcohol, pills and other drugs. The inclusion of all drugs is important and more reflective of the reality of overdose, allowing us to speak more broadly about the issues.
- To provide an opportunity for people to publicly mourn for loved ones, some for the first time, without feeling guilt or shame.
- To include the greatest number of people in Overdose Awareness Day events, and as such, encourages non-denominational involvement.
- To give community members information about the issue of overdose.
- To send a strong message to current and former drug users that they are valued.
- To stimulate discussion about overdose prevention and drug policy.
- To provide basic information on the range of support services that exist in the local community.
- To remind the drug user to be careful.
Remember -
It could be your father, your daughter or your loved one...
It could be you...
or me.
or me.
In memory of Bauwka
Not the first nor the last but one of the youngest...
RIP
Tuesday, 30 August 2011
DJ Spooky 'Ghost World: A Story in Sound'
As Spooky says:
The “Ghost World” mix is all about the multiple rhythms and languages of Africa, but it makes no attempt to give you everything – it’s from my record collection. That’s why the “story” of the mix is about: polyrhythm, multiplex reality.He goes in-depth on his blog about digging through his records and offering up rarities we’d certainly never heard of – one example being the “Car Horn Orchestra” of Ghana which has a gathering of many taxi drivers who converge in downtown Accra to make a large symphony of honks from their taxis at the end of the work day or for funerals of drivers. Expect a mix full of other cool sounds you probably wouldn’t anticipate.
Spooky spent time in Africa as a child, traveling through Kenya, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Egypt, and more recently visited Angola where he got turned on to Kuduro, which you’ll hear in this mix as well. More than a mix, this is an art project that accompanied Spooky’s installation at the Venice Biennial Africa Pavilion. Although we can’t offer you the installation, we can give you the mix to listen to + download FREE!
Download & Tracklist
@'okayafrica'
Rare Early Photographs of Musicians Around the World
Hari Dasu, India. c. 1900?
Photo: James
Photo: James
Egypt
The Colored Idea Band of Sonny Clay arrives in Sydney, 1928 / Sam Hood
The band entered Sydney Harbour playing their newly composed 'Australian Stomp' on deck, with their dancers performing. After good reviews, the Truth newspaper organised for the band to be raided. They were found with Australian women and deported. African American bands were banned from visiting until 1954. The Library has photographs of the Louis Armstrong tour, the first Afro-American entertainer to visit after the ban was lifted, and of the Harlem Blackbirds in 1955, the first Afro-American group to visit.
Ai Weiwei attacks injustices in China in magazine article
Ai Weiwei, the Chinese artist held by the authorities for almost three months earlier this year, has attacked injustice in China in a passionate article fuelled by his own experiences of detention.
He accused officials of "deny[ing] us basic rights" and compared migrant workers to slaves, describing Beijing as "a city of violence" and "a constant nightmare".
But one of the most powerful passages describes how people "become like mad" as they are held in isolation and how detainees "truly believe [captors] can do anything to you".
His remarks, in an article about Beijing published on the website of Newsweek magazine, are certain to anger Chinese security officials. They come days after it emerged that China is reportedly planning to give police legal powers to hold some suspects for up to six months without telling their families. Campaigners say the move would legitimise and potentially increase the number of secret detentions.
Ai's own 81-day detention caused an international outcry. It was the most high-profile case in a sweeping crackdown that saw dozens of activists, dissidents and lawyers held earlier this year.
State media said he was held for economic crimes and released in June "because of his good attitude in confessing" and a chronic illness. His family and supporters believe he was targeted due to his social and political activism.
The 54-year-old artist is not able to give interviews but confirmed that he had written the article. He described it simply as "a piece about the place I live in".
Ai's bail conditions reportedly prevent him from discussing what happened to him in detention, although a source gave Reuters a detailed account of events, which included more than 50 interrogations.
The restrictions are also said to ban him from using social media – although he sent a brief flurry of angry tweets recently about friends who had been enmeshed in his case – but not from writing.
"The worst thing about Beijing is that you can never trust the judicial system," he wrote in the Newsweek article. "It's like a sandstorm … everything is constantly changing, according to somebody else's will, somebody else's power."
He went on: "My ordeal made me understand that on this fabric, there are many hidden spots where they put people without identity … only your family is crying out that you're missing. But you can't get answers from the street communities or officials, or even at the highest levels, the court or the police or the head of the nation. My wife has been writing these kinds of petitions every day [while he was held], making phone calls to the police station every day. Where is my husband?
"You're in total isolation. And you don't know how long you're going to be there, but you truly believe they can do anything to you. There's no way to even question it. You're not protected by anything. Why am I here? Your mind is very uncertain of time. You become like mad. It's very hard for anyone. Even for people who have strong beliefs."
The artist described the capital as two cities. The first was one of power and money, peopled by officials, coal bosses and the heads of big companies who help to keep "the restaurants and karaoke bars and saunas … very rich". The second was a place of desperation, he wrote, calling migrant workers the city's slaves.
Ai, who helped to design the "bird's nest" national stadium for the Olympics – but publicly turned on the games before they began – said none of his art represented the capital.
He added: "The Olympics did not bring joy to the people."
He also warned: "Beijing tells foreigners that they can understand the city, that we have the same sort of buildings …
"Officials who wear a suit and tie like you say we are the same and we can do business. But they deny us basic rights."
Ai described people giving him quiet support when he went out last week, for example patting him on the shoulder, but only in "a secretive way" because they were not willing to speak out.
He said people told him to "either leave, or be patient and watch how they die. I really don't know what I'm going to do."
Tania Branigan @'The Guardian'
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