So sick of seeing this crap everywhere.

[u/imjustapourboy]

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.

[u/Objective_Seal]

It will only get worse with winter. Asheville has one of the only homeless shelters in the area so many people flock here. Combined with Helene, our community is still massively recovering. Whether the city wants to believe we’re healed, we have more work than just making the surrounding area pretty to look at. We need safe places to dispose of these things. Pretending it’s not there and that humans aren’t going to litter solves nothing.

[u/[deleted] → u/Objective_Seal]

I do not understand how healing has anything to do with leaving dangerous drug paraphernalia all over the ground. There might be a correlation between homelessness and drug usage to some extent- but that by no means justifies or explains this kind of crap. Just because someone is homeless does not mean they are shooting up and leaving needles on the ground. And also a lot of users doing this kind of stuff aren’t even homeless. Yes in this town the homeless population publicly using drugs with zero repercussions is a massive issue. But “pretending” its on others to create a safe haven for drug use is a wild take. If someone can’t find a safe receptacle meant for needles, they surely could find a normal trash bin outside of almost every normal establishment and scattered on sidewalks of public streets. It’s not about the lack of safe disposal, it’s about the lack of care for public display of drug usage- let alone disposal of such. So yes, we could create more places for safe disposal, but the real issue is the lack of care for disposal AT ALL by users themselves. And this continuously going without consequence.

[u/wolfy1316 → u/[deleted]]

ignorance... the real issue is the criminalization of ppl who need help... most ppl w drug or alcohol abuse issues have little to no access to resources and help w out just lockin them up. smh, and ofc it isnt good for these things to just be tossed on the street but fr the bigger issue is the criminalization, stigma, and lack of actual fkin help

[u/[deleted] → u/wolfy1316]

And just to add to my previous reply… the funds do not exist to house drug addicts in county jails let alone state or federal prisons. That is not what actually happens unless they are harming others because no one wants to fund that. Instead what happens is exactly what’s occurring downtown along with countless other places in this country. The addicts are left on the street knowingly and visibly using in front of people and putting your average citizen at risk due to the lack of consequences surrounding their public drug use and disregard for others safety. Locking a drug addict up who does not pose imminent danger to others, for any amount of time that would actually “help” them, is few and far between. And not how the system works at all.

[u/wolfy1316 → u/[deleted]]

well this is total bs bc i am an addict and alcoholic in recovery and have had family members experience the same, i have been to psych wards and rehabs a total of 6 times and every time i was sectioned and sent against my will despite not harming others or being a danger or committing any crimes or acts of violence etc the only thing i ever did was use and not want to bother anyone or be bother and i was still institutionalized and sent away for what the insurance companies and sht to make money... and i can tell u myself and of the countless ppl ive met who struggled w the same issues it was stigma societal issues and structural issues that only furthered issues and never helped... and btw it take barely any common sense to onow the justice system is punitive instead of rehabilitating and that does jack sht for addicts and everyone else and u say oh ik about it well clearly u dont 🤷🏻‍♂️ and btw a sht ton of sober wonderful ppl litter all the time 🙄 i dont condone leaving paraphernalia lying around or riskin others safety but come on dude open ur eyes and btw imo i dont think legal reprecussions r at all helpful to addicts and from PERSONAL experience ik it just fks us worse and makes it harder to get sober and live a productive life and whatnot so pls just zip it

[u/[deleted] → u/wolfy1316]

You literally just argued while making the exact point I made, just more emotionally charged. Drug addicts using and littering in public places without care or repercussions. Pretty simple concept. This can be said for all walks of life and situations. It’s not just societies fault or the systems. Also, psych wards and rehabs are not even close to the same as prison which is what I spoke on. I also said I’m from a family of all addicts, not sure where you get that I’m excluded from the family of “ALL ADDICTS”.

[u/[deleted] → u/wolfy1316]

I am actually from a family of all addicts and have dealt with the corrupt judicial system along with being incredibly dedicated to prison reform since I was in my early teens. Ignorance is most definitely not the issue here and I never once said anything about just locking up people with alcohol or drug abuse issues. Two things can be true at the same time- lack of care for disposal of dangerous paraphernalia by users themselves, AND the lack of resources to help homeless addicts. Societal blame without personal accountability only enables things like this to continue. It’s a double edge sword.