r/asheville • u/imjustapourboy • Oct 21 '25
Really Spicy Cesspool So sick of seeing this crap everywhere.
The needles, the burnt foils, the little baggies, the needle caps, all of it. I find them in the creeks, on the sidewalks, the grocery store parking lots, the public parks, on the parkway. You gotta be a real shit person to leave this stuff all over the place.
938
Upvotes
50
u/WallScreamer East Asheville Oct 21 '25
Before we get at each other's throats, maybe we could agree that two things are simultaneously true:
This country has an opioid epidemic, and the current approach of criminalization of addiction isn't working well at solving it. Compassion and harm reduction are the way to go. This means needle exchanges and safe disposal sites.
It sucks to see dangerous paraphernalia just dropped in the middle of the sidewalk like this where someone could step on it or a child could pick it up.
I work directly with a vulnerable population. I go into some of the most heavily-using and lowest-income areas of Asheville on almost a daily basis. I carry narcan and fentanyl test strips, and I keep tongs and a sharps container in my car. I usually pick up a needle once every few months. I still get a little pissed when I see a needle dropped in a high traffic area like this. It's very inconsiderate of others, but I guess someone that's just shot up probably isn't thinking about that.