A weather front came through this afternoon, and really swept out the dirty air, or a lot of it. The change between the time (12:15) I arrived at the Federal court house (the court was on the 6th floor, which gives a good view over the city) and the time I left (3:30) was very dramatic.
Today I read the NY Times article about Gov. Shumlin's State of the State Message [Click] about the heroin abuse problem in Vermont. Here's hoping Vermont can get it back under control.
People have been predicting a surge in heroin abuse as a result of crackdowns on pill mills and the reformulation of Oxycontin so it can't be powdered and snorted, and here's more evidence they were right. I remember when we were doing the toxicology testing for the State of Maine Medical Examiner's Office several years back; it was just like people said--folks there really loved their opioids. We hardly ever saw any stimulants (methamphetamine or cocaine) in the Maine specimens. The million-dollar question is WHY opioid abuse is so common in the eastern mountains? Maybe Vermont can figure it out. It sounds like the Manhattan Project approach is in order--start by trying everything at once.
We might have seen an uptick in opioid deaths out here, but it's hard to be sure.
I suppose that methadone maintenance programs will be a significant part of the short-term anti-heroin operation; that will almost inevitably mean a few methadone overdose deaths from diversion, and a few cases of little children getting into Mommy or Daddy's pink "soda" in the refrigerator with fatal results. VERY few, I hope. Community action must be a huge factor in curing the problem, and maybe Vermont is unusually well prepared for that.
Howard's the star in this utterly lovely pic!
ReplyDeleteHallo all. How was your day?
ReplyDeleteI went back to work today, and it was a bit taxing, but I survived.
Tomorrow I head to the NH border for a meeting, then zoom back in time to pick up VT*Grand from school.
Crazy busy weekend ahead but Monday afternoon looks pleasant with temps in the 40's. Ahhhhh.
Kind of bummed we didn't get Northern Lights tonight after that solar flare. Next time!!
A weather front came through this afternoon, and really swept out the dirty air, or a lot of it. The change between the time (12:15) I arrived at the Federal court house (the court was on the 6th floor, which gives a good view over the city) and the time I left (3:30) was very dramatic.
Delete--Alan
listener--
ReplyDeleteToday I read the NY Times article about Gov. Shumlin's State of the State Message [Click] about the heroin abuse problem in Vermont. Here's hoping Vermont can get it back under control.
People have been predicting a surge in heroin abuse as a result of crackdowns on pill mills and the reformulation of Oxycontin so it can't be powdered and snorted, and here's more evidence they were right. I remember when we were doing the toxicology testing for the State of Maine Medical Examiner's Office several years back; it was just like people said--folks there really loved their opioids. We hardly ever saw any stimulants (methamphetamine or cocaine) in the Maine specimens. The million-dollar question is WHY opioid abuse is so common in the eastern mountains? Maybe Vermont can figure it out. It sounds like the Manhattan Project approach is in order--start by trying everything at once.
We might have seen an uptick in opioid deaths out here, but it's hard to be sure.
--Alan
I suppose that methadone maintenance programs will be a significant part of the short-term anti-heroin operation; that will almost inevitably mean a few methadone overdose deaths from diversion, and a few cases of little children getting into Mommy or Daddy's pink "soda" in the refrigerator with fatal results. VERY few, I hope. Community action must be a huge factor in curing the problem, and maybe Vermont is unusually well prepared for that.
Delete--Alan