Gov. Josh Green, MD, told Civil Beat:
“It is very important to legalize fentanyl test strips,” Green said in an email. “Fentanyl is 80 times more powerful than morphine and it suppresses the respiratory system to the point that it is sometimes not possible to resuscitate patients with Narcan. Fentanyl is being laced into other drugs and people are dying, as we saw with the tragic two deaths in Waikiki.” [source]
Actually, it is very important to STOP using illicit drugs. I think highly of our current governor. Good man; big heart. He stands for what substance abuse practitioners call “harm reduction.” With opioids however the best “harm reduction” is to NOT use opioids at all.
Yes, Dr. Green has gone insane as well. Officials claim our objective is to reduce the use of illicit substances. We make it easier and safer to use.
For some, such a task can be difficult. As I work in substance abuse, I am familiar that tons of cocaine flood our islands each year. Some illegal dealers lace cocaine with fentanyl. They press fentanyl into pills that look like the party drug, MDMA, street name Ecstasy. Or they press fentanyl into pills that look similar to the ADHD drug, brand name Adderall.
For legal patients who receive their DR-prescribed medications from a licensed pharmacy or medical cannabis dispensary, illicit fentanyl isn’t a major concern. Individual playing around with drugs sold on the illicit market are at risk.
Nancy Reagan urged youngsters to “Just Say No!” More liberal officials now admit this conservative strategy failed. They recommend illicit drug users carry around fentanyl test strips so they can test for illicit fentanyl in their illicit drugs. If this current strategy seems insane, give our good governor a call. Yes, Dr. Green has gone insane as well. Officials claim our objective is to reduce the use of illicit substances. We make it easier and safer to use.
I’m uniquely trained by the CDC and University of New Mexico School of Medicine to STOP the use of opioid drugs. STOP THE USE !!!
Green claims some people worry that by legalizing these test strips Hawai’i officials are sending the wrong message. Of course it is the WRONG message!!!
“We as a state need to be compassionate and focus on harm reduction. People who are addicted to drugs can use these test strips to determine whether they are about to ingest a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl — and be in a position to save their own lives,” Green said.
Green now allows people to test for fentanyl. These individuals are not “addicted.” They are partying. I’m available to work with people who are addicted. We frequently put such individuals on buprenorphine, active ingredient SABOXONE. We don’t need fentanyl test strips. Green caters to illicit recreational users; not people suffering addiction.
In StarAdvertiser’s unscientific Daily BigQ, June 8, 2023, 84% of respondents support tight regulations on vaping nicotine. Vaping however is harm reduction from smoking tobacco. CDC estimates over 480,000 Americans die each year due to cigarette smoking; some 41,000 die from secondhand smoke exposure.
“We have tried for years, in this chamber, to pass any kind of flavored vaping ban or restriction. And we stand here now … about to give our kids some kind of hope that they don’t have to be addicted to nicotine for the rest of their lives.”
Rep. Scot Matayoshi, regarding HB 1570
Gov. Green supports harm reduction for opioids; not smoking — and smoking kills FOUR TIMES the number of Americans. StarAdvertiser reported that it is now illegal to import electronic smoking devices and e-liquids into the islands after Gov. Josh Green signed a bill into law Tuesday as part of a years-long and continuing effort to prevent children from becoming addicted to nicotine.
“That was easy to pass this bill after years of working hard with so many people. I’m just really honored to be with you today to move the bar … on what … has become a terrible health crisis … We have to recognize that tobacco is poison. And tobacco use continues to be the single most preventable cause of disease that we could deal with, that we can affect. … It causes death in the United States. So this is a monumental first step in protecting our keiki from Big Tobacco.”
Governor Josh Green, MD
Vaping nicotine is harm reduction from poisonous smoking of tobacco. ClearHealthLife agrees with Dr. Green that smoking tobacco is harmful. Governor Green however is banning nicotine, not tobacco products. Such policies seem to be insane to us. How about you?
One in 3 high school students vape, along with 1 in 20 middle schoolers, said Green, who with his wife, Jaime, is the parent of a daughter in high school and a son in middle school. Do their keiki vape? Parents and peers keep keiki from vaping; not government regulation. Vaping is perceived as cool — or safe. Until this attitude changes, government efforts will fail.
This state has refused to legalize recreational cannabis. Officials claim it sends the wrong message. Hawai’i “decriminalized” in 2019. What message does this send? Police don’t want to bother. If cited, the individual receives a $130 ticket, like jaywalking or speeding. The illicit market still grows. Hawai’i continues to fund criminal enterprise, gangs and drug cartels. Most importantly, nobody dies from cannabis overdose.
One harm reduction strategy is to substitute medical cannabis for opioid medications. Hawaiian Electric fired me for my cannabis use. The company offered me a lateral transfer into a permanent position. As I am disabled, badly injured at the time, I specifically asked HR if my medication was permitted. HR told me I would be fine. They fired me two weeks later.
Hawaiian Electric WOULD NOT have fired me had I used opioids. Most companies in Hawai’i are the same. NOBODY is dying from using medical cannabis !!! Over 100,000 per year die from opioid-related overdose. Hawai’i legalized medical cannabis in 2000; added anti-discrimination protections in 2015. Yet corporate Hawai’i remains anti-cannabis and pro-opioid. And, for many people, once you taste opioids, you are an addict for life. I’m with Nancy, “Just Say No to OPIOIDS !!!”
The governor’s announcement comes two days after a mass overdose in a Waikiki hotel room that killed two men and left two women and another man hospitalized. Police say fentanyl was found in the hotel room at the Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort, Honolulu Police Department spokeswoman Michelle Yu said.
Tough love! Send a message to residents. Do not use illicit drugs. Your life depends on your good judgment. Governor Green and others bail them out. These people were not poor, homeless or destitute. These people are privileged and freely choosing to play with illicit substances.
Liberals make excuses for bad behavior and decision.
The victims were identified as Joseph Iseke, 44, of Kailua, O’ahu, and Steven Berengue, 53, of Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i island, according to the Honolulu Medical Examiner’s Office.
These two men are not children. They were fully aware that they should use better judgment. Now, Hawai’i moves to bail out people who break the law and defy common sense and reason.
We have stupid people in Hawai’i — those who use opioids, and corporate officials like those at Hawaiian Electric who punish competent, proficient employees for using a more safe and effective medication. Officials are stuck in the past. Illicit users are stuck in an emotional rut. They need help. Governor’s program won’t push them toward a counselor. This new policy will simply allow people to use more illicit substances.
If this policy is the best Hawai’i can do, it would be better to LEGALIZE all illicit substances and dispense from legal, regulated pharmacies and dispensaries. Society could control the quality with such a program. The fentanyl strip policy might reduce some overdose death; however, it encourages more use and not all users will have access to Naloxone, brand name NARCAN, when they need it.
Hawaiian Electric fired me in 2019. I’m still battling corporate officials in court. They arrogantly claim they did nothing wrong. Just wish Governor Green would authorize and permit a Stupidity Test Strip that employees like me can use on corporate executives.
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