Above The Law: Conditional Discharge Law

The past few days Facebook has been filled with stories, posts and memes about the Republican Nominee for Sheriff, John Orem who has been charged with possession of heroin.

In reading a story written by Jafari Tishomingo from Counter Current News I am left with nothing but questions now. The story points out possibly a not known fact of the law as I for one knew nothing about this law West Virginia Code 60A-4-407 and I wonder about others.

The story from Counter Current News states:

"In West Virginia they have a “Conditional Discharge” Law, a Conditional discharge works by ordering the accused to a period of probation before trial date. The court proceedings are deferred during this period. If you complete the probation, the charges against you will be dismissed. Six months later, you can move to have all records expunged

Oren can receive no jail time and has the ability for everything to just disappear.

One question we have to ask ourselves is if this “Conditional Discharge” law is afforded to everyone or is it at the discretion of the presiding judge?

Were other West Virginian Heroin addicts afforded the same kind of leniency? Or is this another case of the state looking out for their own?"

I agree because I have a real problem when people are above the law of everyone else in this town. Will this case like others play out as to those who are above the law? Why exactly haven't others been afforded this leniency of the law?

 West Virginia Code 60A-4-407

West Virginia Code 60A-4-407

Is It Any Wonder There Are Stigmas?

Is it any wonder that a stigma exists between society and those who are caught up in the addiction as well as those people who love someone using and abusing heroin when entities within the Federal Government cannot even stand on the same side?

As a blogger, I type many keywords into search engines seeking information and resources on heroin. We have a son who uses and abuses not only heroin but others as well.

I cannot remember now exactly what words I used to type into the BING search engine to come up with an interesting FACT CHECK on the heroin epidemic written by the website, Fusion.

By interesting I mean this,

The word fentanyl has now become a household word and the nightmare of every parent or person who loves someone addicted to heroin as well as among the groups who advocate. We used to only hear that word as it was associated with many stars in Hollywood who died from a heroin overdose now it is among us on our streets and it is killing people right here in Martinsburg, West Virginia.

The DEA calls it a heroin epidemic however in 2014 the CDC disagreed and said "NO" The CDC does not consider this an epidemic.

“We do not consider heroin usage as an epidemic,” said spokesperson Courtney Lenard. “Deaths rates from heroin overdose in the US were relatively stable from 1999 through 2010. We did not see the sharp increase that we would characterize as an epidemic.”

Now, all the other entities (the CDC and SAMSHA) all agree there is an opioid epidemic in this country but it's not heroin.

Now we who love someone addicted know that once our loved one is addicted it is often not just heroin. Our son was addicted to heroin first. Now it's a combo of heroin/opiates. Sometimes just opiates.

Other opioids and benzos come into action. Those addicted will combine other drugs with heroin just searching for the next bigger high. Heck, I just learned that our son is combining heroin, opioids and smoking them with Spice.

Is there any wonder that there is such as stigma around addiction and whether or not it is a disease? As well as the stigma society places on families and friends of those who use and abuse. We who love them come to that place when we have to call it was it is, a heroin addiction.

Why wouldn't these government entities call it for what it is?

Personally, I feel this way,  If they were to all come to together and agree, it would show a great failure on their part because from the late 1990's and through the 2000's heroin use has gradually risen year after year. We have the numbers of the overdoses and the deaths to prove it so how can they say there has been no increase? No epidemic?

Of course, this is just my opinion.

To read the rest of this interesting article...

Fact Check: Is There Really A Heroin Epidemic?

© 2016 Gossip Girl

Why Do We Need This Treatment Center Here?

When someone is having a heart attack or a stroke they are taken to the hospital, they are treated in the emergency room by a great set of doctors. Once they are stable they are then admitted into the hospital often in the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital and treatment and tests are started. When you are sick or are having a medical emergency that is how it works right?

But...

If someone is addicted to heroin and they overdose first they are lucky if the treatment gets to them on time. There is still fight over the use of Narcan. Our local law enforcement who is often the first on the scene will not be carrying Narcan Let's say the ambulance gets there to save them because that is what often happens. Then, the addict is taken to the hospital. There they are observed and then discharged.

Why? They too are sick aren't they?
Why are they then discharged out of the hospital to go back to heroin and then take a risk of overdosing again and possibly dying?

The answer is a simple one...

Because there are no beds in the places where they need to go to get treated for the disease of addiction. There is a huge waiting list for those beds to the places they need to go to get treatment for the disease of addiction.

We desperately need those beds right here in Martinsburg/Berkeley County. We need the treatment right here in Martinsburg/Berkeley County to treat our own who are addicted to heroin and want to be free of addiction.

Back In History: It Just Had To Be The Pot

It couldn't have been all the LSD and Acid!

This is a continuing discussion about Berkeley County's out of control drug problem. Weeks ago I posted one of several I have written on the subject of, Should Pot Be Legal?

I was born and raised here in Martinsburg. My parents took me to church every Sunday and also talked about why we should never use drugs. Maybe that should say they used scare tactics back then to explain it.
As a kid I was scared to death of drugs. Back in those days the majority of kids I went to school with was raised the same way we were.
Back in those days on Sundays you were in church. Everyone knew each other here in town. At the stores or when out you ran into people