THIS IS YOUR CITY ON DRUGS: ‘YOU MIGHT BE SHOCKED’
BY DAN VALENTI
PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY
(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION MAY 14-6, 2021) — Some interesting information came to THE PLANET by a source at the Spectrum methadone clinic 390 Merrill Road, Pittsfield.
The company’s facility near Boston treats an average of 200 addicts a day.
Care to guess the Pittsfield average? According to our source, 800 junkies — check that, “clients” — each day. Pittsfield, with under 40,000 residents, deals with four times the addicts as the large metropolis. Why?
Could the explanation be found in the fine print and riders to the “free cash” the city gets from the state in the form of grant money? Who’s actually monitoring the conditions placed on the grants on behalf of Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski?
———- ooo ———-
Our source also tells us about the Pittsfield clientele: For the most part, “low-lifes and scum.” Picture, she says, a woman with leopard tights, shocking pink hair, loaded with tats and piercings. Of course, she’s wearing high heels. The guy’s wearing a flat-rimmed baseball cap, tilted, logos on the bill. Pants are “below his ass.” He’s “bone skinny,” has the palor of death, and like his girlfriend, is tatted and pierced.
She says, with emphasis that she’s generalizing, that these cartoon figures are not for the most part what you’d consider “respectable people with a sincere interest in getting help. These are addicts who want to stay addicts.”
She also says the area around the facility is “heavy” with drug trafficking. Our source says the police know it but are hesitant to do anything about it “in this crazy new anti-police time. You might be shocked at how many people who ‘hang around’ with ‘sale-quality amounts’ of fentanyl, crack, and heroin” on them.
Many of the clients, she says, get “chauffeured” into town from Springfield and other outlying areas. The “free” rides are paid with public dollars. Lots of business, too, from what she calls “the North Street crowd.”
Our source confesses that she “got into this business with the intent of helping people help themselves. Now, it’s like I’m just another drug pusher.”
———- 000 ———-
An online source describes a methadone clinic as “a place where a person who is addicted to opioid-based drugs, such as heroin or prescription painkillers, can receive medication-based therapy. Patients receive methadone, or the brand name version known as Dolophine, which is an opioid analgesic. This drug treatment is often referred to as replacement therapy. … In addition to the medically prescribed and distributed methadone treatments at the outpatient clinics, patients get comprehensive medical services (such as physical exams and HIV testing) and individual and group counseling sessions.”
Roughly 60 percent of clients have no insurance. No problem. The Kapanski’s are there to bail them out.
A more realistic definition of a methadone clinic is this: “A place where drug addicts can continue their addictions at taxpayer expense.”
We realize it’s not as simple as that.
It’s not as simple as that, but neither is the horrific cost to decent, working, law-abiding, taxpaying citizens. By measurements both anecdotal and data-based, Pittsfield has become a haven for those in and around the drug trade. That explains the denizens of the deep you find on North Street, the gangs, the crime, and the creepy characters who are, sadly, becoming the norm.
Trust us, it’s anything but “vibrant and dynamic.”
Which leads to one more unanswerable question: Why should it be society’s responsibility to see to people who won’t see to themselves?
Drug taking is a choice.
Addiction is a choice.
Getting off drugs is a choice.
Have a great weekend, everybody.
——————————————————————————————-
“Money does not buy you happiness, but lack of money certainly buys you misery” — Psychologist Daniel Kahneman.
“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”
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I believe we, as a society, should help the people who cannot help themselves due to poverty, disability, victim of crime, victim of circumstance, illness, and so on. The problem with charity and welfare is that people (and communities like Pittsfield Massachusetts) become dependent on the good will of society. I believe that Pittsfield has chosen to model its very economically unequal local economy after “Perverse Incentives” whereby Pittsfield’s downtown is sarcastically called “Social Services Alley” and its inner city public schools are rated Level 5 (or failing) by the state. A good government is supposed to invest in all of the people who live in its political borders by providing economic opportunity and quality public education. I always use the 1946 Christmas movie classic “It’s a Wonderful Life” to illustrate how public and business administration is supposed to be versus the nightmare of “Pottersville”. In Bedford Falls, George Bailey uses his building and loans small business to invest in the working class and their families, but in Pottersville, Henry Potter uses his bank to screw them over for his own profit. Bedford Falls is a nice community where the working class own homes and earn a living wage backed by George Bailey’s equitable building and loans institution. Pottersville is a hostile community where the working class live in slum apartments and they are treated like chattel. In my view, there are two figurative Pittsfields: The first Pittsfield is where the middle to upper income people live in Bedford Falls; The second Pittsfield is where the lower and moderate income and poor people live in Pottersville. I spent many years of my young adult life fearing that I would end up in inner city Pittsfield. I believe that trauma of fear is part of the reason I am a person and disabled Veteran with mental illness. I am still scared of inner city Pittsfield even though I have lived in southern New Hampshire for the past 17 years now. I understand what is going on with Pittsfield’s distressed economy: Pittsfield does NOT invest in the working class and underclass, which always grows larger and larger year in and year out in Pittsfield. In turn, Pittsfield takes in millions upon millions of public dollars for Social Services and Level 5 (or failing) public education. The more poverty and working poor Pittsfield residents equals more public dollars for Pittsfield politics. That is a horrible formula that takes advantage of disadvantaged people’s plight in life. I had lunch with my friend this past Saturday, and he said that there are other communities out there like Pittsfield that are full of Social Services and failing public schools. I guess that I know of and experienced as a then young man the banality of inner city Pittsfield, but not all of the other proverbial “Pittsfields” out there. Lastly, the privileged few in Pittsfield would not even begin to understand any of this.
Thanks for the insight of how you think JM, however I hope you recognize how that strategy for government enables poor behavior. I like to follow what the earliest Americans believed and that was personal responsibility and family cohesion. While people did need others that was worked through the market system. Government was small and was there to keep people safe and make sure people were following the law.
Occam’s razor short answer
The state gets federal reimbursement,
Explanation
The only economy Massachusetts has is federal reimbursement. That’s reason Massachusetts sjc allowed incoseration of innocent defendants without trials, extorting pleas to facilitate release as waiting indefinitely for.a trial could be years.
2022 will see a massive change to blue state federal reimbursement.
Blowback from bidens failure will lead to conservative super majority, and successful impeachment.
Ushering in civil rights violation suits against states for covid inspired criminal behavior, supreme court already ruled nothing shall interfere with the citizens civil rights.
Biden has eclipsed Catter as worst president in us history. His Venezuela or bust economic plan is now being exposed in less than 6 months.
Arizona election fraud being exposed will lead to more states being audited, 75,000,000 voters won’t be silenced.
Fake news loses what little credibility it had.
Leading to the proliferation of independent news providers.
The planet up for a growth spurt,?possibly providing web services?
Hosting?podcasts?
Inquiring minds want to know.
Drugs are a very slippery slope but the great citizens of the Commonwealth continue to enable the disease. We even legalized what is considered the gateway drug just so we don’t have to incarcerate the politically in crowd. Of course the tax money helps us not worry about the effects it will have on society and our younger minds. There are many models to help with addiction but they would take away the addicts freedoms, funny they didn’t care about our freedoms during this man made pandemic
You guys spread the virus because of no disipline.Smart people were not gathering at the bar or restaurants.
Oh Danny Boy you are outta touch. Addiction is a brain disease. It’s not the addicts’ fault. Pittsfield is, to use Melle’s phrase, simply “a victim of circumstance”, as Tyer now knows, and if you can’t best em, join em. Let’s go buy some joints and get high tonight. It’s vibrant and dynamic eh Linda?
Comparing medical marijuana to methadone is apples and oranges. Granted I agree marijuana users abuse the privilege most of the time as well, they aren’t dying from overdoses and the tax payers are not subsidizing them
Tax payers do subsidize some marijauna users. Users who have a medical card don’t have to pay the 20% tax that “recreational users” pay.
Marijuana is a dangerous drug and most users smoke it. No, you can’t fatally od from it, but it can cause serious long term adverse effects. You have to be an abject idiot to smoke anything, period. And that Tyer supports this is sickening. City already has a serious drug problem.
J-99
I appreciate that there is the disease theory of addiction. Thanks for the comments and your contributions to this board.
‘Dan, I was mostly being sarcastic. Although addiction to drugs ( and alcohol) is technically considered a disease, indeed drug use is a choice, and as you have pointed out in the past, all the people that recover will tell you that it was their personal decision to get sober that did it, not the maintenance drug, the rehab, or what not. Whether addiction is a weakness or a disease, it’s a matter of chocie.
Cancer is a disease, ALS is a disease. You can’t quit either. I wish you could. It’s amazing that millions of people have quit drugs and alcohol with out Spectrums treatment or any brain surgery.
And for those that can’t or won’t shake the habit, now we have brain surgery to cure opioid addicts. It’s called deep brain stimulation and it is basically a pacemaker for your brain that keeps your cravings in check.
These pain killers the drug companies put on the street were meant for people who were in last stages of life where addiction was not the issue.This is nation wide problem.Greed is an addiction and you never have enough.They shoul get treatment for their brain disease .
And along with free opioid maintenance therapy you can get subsidized cell phone – 50 per month- if you make less than 100k per year and your income dropped during Corona, courtesy of us Kapanskis, or if your a layabout.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnet.com/google-amp/news/americans-hit-by-pandemic-eligible-for-fccs-50-broadband-subsidy/
Don Trump paid zero in income tax as did Amazon ,you are not focused.Trump and his friends have 7 trillion in unpaid taxes.These people are making laws that allow them to steal from our economy.
Your just now realizing politicians/ lawmakers write the tax laws? This has been going on forever and benefits themselves and anyone else that cares to donate to their election or re-election. It has been going on at least for the 50 years Joe has been serving. Nothing new.
With drug cartels flooding all kinds of drugs into our country thanks to the open borders of Joe Biden, expect this situation to get so much worse. More drugs means higher crime rates in cities and towns across America.
The drugs have been coming in since Reagan let them in.He was the reason you had crack cocaine
Reagan is also why we have this quote:
Democrats think every day is April 15th.
-Ronald Reagan
Are Pittsfield schools teaching Critical Race Theory? Will parents push back to keep this out of our schools?
You damn well know the fools like Brendan Sheran and Joe Curtis are pushing this junk. Pittsfield Schools are some of the most politicized and left leaning in the state. Might as well be Noho Jr. Those teachers ABSOLUTELY indoctrinate their students into their political leanings… despite the fact that most public schools have rules stating teaching must remain NEUTRAL politically in the classroom
They are pushing racism since they are saying that white people are the oppressors and everyone else is a victim. Today I hear young people screaming about harming white people because they are being fed this poison. This is where all of this leads….violence. You can’t run politicians in this area against it since the far left owns the elections in Berkshire County so it has to be parents who are outraged enough to speak out.
Out of his arse just like you
Twilight Zone?
Parents had better wake up, as more madness is coming to your local public schools with the appointment of this far-left chic.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/05/13/biden-to-nominate-obama-era-equity-activist-to-key-ed-dept-civil-rights-post/
What good will it do explaining?
“Our source also tells us about the Pittsfield clientele: For the most part, “low-lifes and scum.” Picture, she says, a woman with leopard tights, shocking pink hair, loaded with tats and piercings. Of course, she’s wearing high heels. The guy’s wearing a flat-rimmed baseball cap, tilted, logos on the bill. Pants are “below his ass.” He’s “bone skinny,” has the palor of death, and like his girlfriend, is tatted and pierced.”
..
Unfortunately you don’t need to be at the methadone clinic to see that, just take a simple stroll up North St. On a beautiful vibrant day you can see homeless drunks pissing on the sidewalk, people fried out of their minds with nothing better to do then search for the next high, a traffic plan that even Jane Jacobs couldn’t figure out, and the meter maids harassing the small handful of people trying to navigate the traffic/parking plan just to get a sandwich.
Really is quite sad to see what government has done to a once great area. The traffic/bike design has got to be the dumbest thing I have ever seen. Even my elementary aged child asked why the traffic and parking was so weird. You have lanes that are marked to go straight yet lead to barriers, parking that stretches into bike/traffic lanes, meters that most people still cannot figure out when they are actually working, and bike lanes that even the bikers wouldn’t risk using.
Stupid.
I love the natural intelligence of young children before politics destroys their ability to think clearly. So many of us are disgusted with the destruction of a once great family friendly city.
Look on the bright side. June teenth is an official Pittsfield holiday
More time to stay away from city hall….wait no one is there now…we should institute a year long pandemic holiday once it’s over
I have a feeling they care more about having another day off versus why they are getting the new day off.
You mean city hall workers will get paid for not going to work? What a concept.
Any day now the corrupt mayor will be renaming 100 North Street MLK Hall and turning that into a paid holiday too because these greedy scumbags can’t get enough. Any excuse to rip off the taxpayers is cause for celebration for them.
STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES, SIR
The clients exaggerate & sell half their Rx on the street to addicts who do not have health insurance, for free cash.
The Community Development people own medical building(s) real estate. It was in the rag. Craig Barnum owns North Adam’s medical building, among others in County. He is on the Housing Committee. There’s money in increasing the junk population.
This is sad. The methadone clinic serves four times as many people as the clinic in Boston does. A quick google search shows the population of the Boston metro area is 4,600,00 people. The population of Berkshire County is approximately 125,000 people. Those numbers are staggering.
When Linda and Barry Tyer, Tricia Country-Buffet, and the like, hype up grant money to make North Street or Tyler Street, dynamic and vibrant, all inclusive, what they fail to tell you is, the “all inclusive” part isn’t for the LBDTRBGQ crowd.
Nope, it’s so Boston, Worcester, and other cities, can send their problems (drug addicts) to Pittsfield. I’m sure under the guise of a recovering addict in a half-way house. The problem, if that addict leaves treatment and relapses. Is he/she going back to their home cities of Holyoke or Brockton? Nope, they are staying here, in their newly adopted (by default) vibrant and dynamic city.
That person now adds to the problems of the Pittsfield Police, BMC, the Brien Center, and every other person or business, their criminal activity reaps havoc on. These people don’t have jobs. They don’t contribute taxes. They only contribute to the scourge of Pittsfield.
But hey, the skate park is looking great, right Linda?
And Dan, I forgot to add in my last post, do you honestly fault the Pittsfield Police for ignoring the drug problem around the methadone clinic? Why arrest a drug dealer, only to have DA Wrong-Way drop the charges. We already know it was the white man who caused these people to inject heroin into their veins.
Is that a white man’s fun night out? Running around the city injecting people of color with narcotics, just because? Helen Moon sure thinks so.
Just spewing incorrect information may get you a burger king crown on this page however you have not one fact to back up drug charges are being dropped. If you would actually dig a little you would find just the opposite and the available data proves that. Nobody likes the druggies all over the city and giving handouts perpetuates the problem I agree.
Out of curiosity Gimme, I noticed the DA didn’t have a press conference/photo-op during the arraignment of Edward Jennings. He shot and killed Lemond Grady on North Street, to refresh your memory.
DA Wrong-Way had a press conferences/photo-op for Matthew and Cassandra Tucker, when they were arraigned for manslaughter in the death of a 10 month-old child.
She had another press conference/photo-op for the arraignment of Lonnie Durfee. Durfee burned a few bails of hay. The DA even requested to hold him on a dangerousness hearing, because he opposed her political views. Not a person or piece of property was ever in danger. So why the dangerousness hearing?
Would you care to explain to me why Harrington didn’t do a photo-op for Jennings? Did it not fit her agenda? I mean, the guy only shot and killed another man on North Street. You would think the chief law enforcement official in the county would be all over that. To bad it wasn’t a white guy that did the murder, right Andrea?
Activist agendas are far more important.
I missed the press conference for Dufree? It was however picked by every news wire in the country can you provide the link? Or is this more of your vomit fake news? Dufree has a criminal record as long as your lies. I’m sure his wife was happy held as our former D. Oh never mind. Ask Kelly Kemp lots of stories to tell about that one lots!
Andy, enjoy your job while you still have it. The curtain is closing on the “progressive DA’s,” across the country. You can only hide behind the “systemic racism,” for oh so long. Its tough when it’s not white cops or the white male robbing, shooting, and killing each other at record numbers. There is a reason the #1 killer of a black male 16-35 is another black male. Black on black violence is out of control.
Does the DA ever bring Shirley Edgerton to speak to the black community about this? Or is it the typical “white privilege” garbage?
Take a look at the weak on crime locations these “progressive DA’s,” have turned into absolute sh*tholes: Philadelphia, NYC, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, and closer to home, Boston and Pittsfield. Violent crimes are increasing at record levels.
Let me guess? More lies I’m telling? Maybe after this gig, you could write pressers for Debby Wong’s?
MARK
No. I don’t find fault there. First, it’s the criminals who have the rights. Anyone whose addled with drugs and won’t quit, as well, is a victim of oppression, bad childhood, the heartbreak of psoriasis, or some other tragedy. Cops who ensure public safety face disciplinary action these days. As you say, if an arrest does occur, it’s usually thrown out. If you’re an honest citizen, however, and you let a blade of grass grow one inch too long, and the authorities are ready to land on you. Great time, ain’t it?
I think the way Dan wrote the story is a little confusing. I would doubt there is only one Methadone clinic serving the greater Boston area. So that one may have less than Pittsfield’s but that’s because they probably have dozens of them all over the place. But no doubt our problem increased when they sent all the Covid Homeless people from out of town and they never left. And they never will if people keep handing them money at the intersections. I really can’t understand why you can’t pass some kind of a bylaw, or enforce a current one, that prevents people from interfering with the course of traffic or loitering at an intersection. I’ll give anyone $50 who stands behind one of these bums with a sign that says please don’t give this bum money, they are only looking to support their drug habits. You must stay there long enough that the bum gets frustrated and leaves.
They are more likely to pass something like, if you interfere with the panhandling in traffic you get a ticket for not putting $ in fast enough and holding up traffic.
The mayor could just give the pan handlers 500 bucks each every week out of the marijuna tax money. Or the CPA money. Kind of cruel to make them stand out there all day while the city hall folk are all at home barbecuing.
As it is, these pan handlers have become ambassodors to the city welcoming out of towners, giving directions and pretty much painting a real life picture of how great a job our mayor has been doing with the city.
Our panhandling ambassadors are the most dynamic and vibrant a city could ask for,will be her justification for putting them on the city payroll.
JD
Love the solution to the bums and druggies with the signs. Looks like it could work, except the bum might pull out his loaded Glock.
I’m happy to double it to $100 for combat pay
Instead of panhandlers let’s call them downtown ambassadors!
I’m skeptical of the number 800/day. If the volume were that high ( oops no pun intended but here we are) this town would have noticed and spoken up.
Is Spectrum double billing the same clients over and over?
That per diem number is too high a load ( ok that one was deliberate lol)
Good place for a forensic audit!
Shortly before Spectrum opened this clinic they held a “Neighborhood Informational Meeting”. Believe it was back in 2016. There were approximately 100 neighbors and small business owners from the Allendale area that attended, including myself. At that time they stated they would be administering to 650 patients a day so I feel this new number of 800 is most likely correct. At the meeting when neighbors asked legitimate questions such as who pays for these dosages, how do you know if a client is not already high on heroin or other substance, why are you opening this right across the street from the main gate of our biggest employer General Dynamics, our questions were met with complete blatant arrogance from the Spectrum Administrators. After about 1 1/2 hours of this nonsense the neighbors knew their objections were not going to be heard. Guess Spectrum thought feeding us some cookies and punch would make us happy. Ironically, not one neighbor touched their little “peace spread”. Another take away from that meeting was that our Mayor was as usual a NO SHOW to the meeting. Guess just like the current issue with the cell tower, she chose to not face the taxpayers. Bad enough the neighborhood has to deal with these clients staggering around the neighborhood, we also are surrounded by stinky pot selling and growing businesses. At one time this neighborhood was a quiet family oriented place to live, but between Spectrum and N.Y. cars racing through the streets we no longer have that sense of safety and security yet continue to pay increasing City taxes. Still wondering what Linda is doing with all the revenue from the pot sales, I am sure we will never know.
I have to laugh at our legislators. You’ve got gambling casinos,pot and Meth clinics but you do not even have an O T B type facilitie? It attracts the wrong clientele was the reason. Eric Bich used to say, he said the patrons urine around the buildings in New Lebanon
Don’t worry she has her small group together that decides where bumbling Biden bucks and the smelly stinky $making money will go! Of course it’s for the good of the tax paying citizens…:o
I don’t know why scary barry and his hag aren’t inviting the dirty junkies and the filthy homeless bums to move into their backyard on Pheasant Way. If the homeless like Springside park I would imagine they’d love scary barry and the hag’s backyard. The scary barry’s can open their home/kitchen/bathrooms/bedrooms to their unwashed scumbag summer guests. Hag tyer and scary barry can open a shooting gallery in their spacious livingrooms looking out on the mountains.
This is about your own jealousy. Life isn’t perfect on pheasant way.
The higher the number the more cash. Come on get with it,it’s good to be number one.
No record of any kickbacks has every showed up
That’s what Carm and DelGallo use to say with a wink and smile
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/03/11/nation/these-businesses-violated-massachusetts-covid-19-rules-then-state-gave-them-14-million/
Methadone treatmenr is clearly not understood.Please research or interview someone with knowledge. As Tucker Carlson say we just ask the question or we just try to plant a seed of doubt like the election results.
I know people who are going through the program. There is no end in site. Use one drug more addictive to get off another. They should have to report how many clients have come clean. I’m sure that number is disgusting. Stop throwing money at complicated situations.
You dont get high on methadone.
It’s a crap high.
Can Methadone get you High?????Yes. Methadone can definitely get you high. However, it’s not intended to do so. While taking a therapeutic dose, methadone does not produce a high. A therapeutic dose can be described as the precise amount that is needed to eliminate opioid withdrawal symptoms and decrease cravings. This is different from person to person.
Some people can achieve this with 40mg, while others may need 100mg and up. Also, if the person taking methadone does not have a tolerance to opioids, they can get high on a very small amount. This is very dangerous because it’s easy to overdose.
Ohhh you are quite the liar. Of course you can. It’s all about the dosage. Also addicts know exactly how to stack and what to take before getting methadone to increase the high.
Methadone Abuse
While methadone is used as a way to curb addiction and reduce cravings, it is a heavily-regulated drug. It is so regulated, that patients who are prescribed methadone in an outpatient setting have to go to a clinic every day to be administered their dose. It is a powerful opiate with potentially addictive qualities. People who start using methadone to overcome their heroin addiction are at a higher risk of abuse because they already have a history of opioid dependency. In fact, for some addicts, methadone is their substance of choice. Any time someone uses more methadone than they are prescribed, or use it without a prescription, they are abusing the medication.
Hello Erin at Act on Mass, & blogger Dan Valenti, respectively,
First to Erin at Act on Mass, I wish to respond to your question about why I support your new political advocacy group. I believe in democracy and a state government that equitably invests in all of the people who live in Massachusetts. For many decades now, Beacon Hill lawmakers have done nothing but disservices to the people they supposedly represent. My dad, Bob Melle, was a politician over 2 decades ago, and his political dealings with Beacon Hill were the ugly stuff of retaliation, done deals, and Boston’s “Big Dig” boondoggle receiving tens of billions of wasteful and inefficient tax dollars while Beacon Hill lawmakers told him that Berkshire County government was inefficient and had to be abolished and taken over the Boston’s state government bureaucrats. My dad, who was the last chair of the Berkshire County Commission until June 30th, 2000, once told Beacon Hill lawmakers at a Boston Statehouse legislative hearing that he could run Berkshire County government for 5,000 years based on Boston’s “Big Dig” recurring multi-billion-dollar cost overruns. I felt that Beacon Hill was the pot calling Berkshire County government or the kettle black because both forms of government were inefficient!
Beacon Hill lawmakers should not be so top-down and secretive that the people who pay their excessive public salaries and perks are shut out of Massachusetts State Government. The Boston Globe just last month reported that Beacon Hill lawmakers give big businesses in Massachusetts $17.8 billion per year in state tax breaks. The Massachusetts state lottery is one of the most successful state lottery operations in the nation. The reality of the lottery is that is really an inequitable system of voluntary regressive taxation that allows big businesses to pay billions of dollars less in state taxes, while throwing financial crumbs back to the cities and towns, and public education. The ratio of greedy Beacon Hill lobbyists to Beacon Hill lawmakers is huge. My point is that Beacon Hill is not only undemocratic, but also, Beacon Hill is very inequitable because the Boston-based state lawmakers are NOT investing in ALL of the people and taxpayers who live in Massachusetts.
Second, to blogger Dan Valenti, addiction is a brain disease. When people compulsively gamble, it is not so much about winning money, but it is about the dopamine rush or high the compulsive gambler receives when he or she wins. Compulsive gamblers’ high is compared to a crack cocaine addict’s high. Lottery tickets and casinos are shiny and modeled after proverbial opiate dens. When a compulsive gambling addict sees and senses lottery tickets and casino joints, they (lottery/casino) are playing on his or her chemicals lighting up in their brain with feel good chemicals when the compulsive gambler wins money. The unholy trinity of mental illness addiction is an addict seeking out sex workers (including porn), drugs and alcohol, and gambling joints. All three addictive activities give an addict’s brain a high, but also a brain disease. When someone you love is addicted to any of the unholy trinity vices, then you should help them in evidenced based mental health recovery so they don’t destroy their life with the brain disease of addiction. Most of the time, a recovering addict will tell you that he or she was self-medicating instead of receiving psychiatric mental health care. Recovery from addiction and other mental illnesses is a lifelong journey, and it is not always easy. In my life, I try to be a mental health peer who supports people like myself in evidenced based mental health recovery. Lastly, I will never judge a person in recovery and I will never use mental health as a weapon against anyone, including myself.
Best wishes,
Jonathan Melle
—–
Jonathan,
Whether you’re a climate activist fighting for the Legislature to take bolder action on climate change, a union worker tired of Massachusetts refusing to provide basic protections for workers, or just a resident who wants health care to be a human right, we all have different reasons for why transparency matters to us.
Your public narrative – the personal story of why you chose to be a part of this fight – is an invaluable tactic of persuasion. Not only is it a powerful tool to encourage our legislators to take a stand, it’s also a great tool for building community, and motivating fellow activists to keep fighting.
That’s why Sunrise Boston will be holding a Public Narrative Workshop next Thursday, May 20th at 7:00PM, to help you develop your story and learn how you can use it to build support for transparency!
If you can’t make it, we still want to hear your story! We’re looking for enthusiastic campaign members to make short, informal videos about why State House reform matters to them.
This campaign is all about uplifting voices and shifting the culture, inside the State House and out, to center the needs and values of everyday people. If dozens of people make and post videos about transparency and why they’re in this fight, we can shift the narrative and spread the word about the campaign statewide.
Want to publish a video? Click here to find out how to get started and some guidelines for the video campaign:
CREATE A VIDEO >>
Thanks for everything you do,
Erin
Act on Mass
—–
So let me get this straight, Pittsfield paid $250,000.00 to have a kindergarten child paint lines down the street. Now they are going to pay who knows how much to fix it again. We all know the money is really coming from the Kapanski’s. There is a very easy way to put bike lines on North, take out the median strip and run the bike lanes down the middle so the bikers won’t have to worry about the parked cars moving into the lanes or opening their doors. I am sure the “houseless” community will help to thank us for the support the city has given them.
Off topic but I have been to a couple of Berkshires lakes and have noticed boats going in and out without power washing. Did the zebra mussels disappear? Did Berkshire County figure out how to eradicate these pesky mussels that were going to destroy our beautiful lakes.
Bobby Baffert is guilty.
Here is my latest plan to get state and local tax breaks from the Lovely Linda, Kufflinks, Trippy Country Buffet, and Chrome Dome. I am going to donate $1,000 dollars to each of their campaign coffers, as well as a $1,000 to Kufflink’s stash. I am going to take them all out to free lunches and buy them a few drinks. I am going to donate all of my Earthly belongings in my will to Kufflink’s well over $10 million slush fund. Then I am going to tell them my latest business proposal to make Pittsfield vibrant and dynamic. I am going to build a brand new factory on PEDA’s polluted and mostly vacant so-called business park that will turn 23-years-old this Summer of 2021. My proposed factory will capture all of the skunk-like marijuana odors in a bottle that Pittsfield’s working class neighborhoods wake up to every morning. Then, I am going to set up a brand new website where people who are disgusted with their elected career politicians can order and send the bottles of stinky pot smells to City Hall, the Statehouse, or Capitol Hill and The White House. When the people and taxpayers get the proverbial shaft from their elected career politicians, my website will send up to the minute alerts about their politicians’ latest disservices in order to sell the people and taxpayers the bottles of stinky marijuana odors to send to their elected career politicians.
Think that’s enough $ to get into the game? Inflation has to be taken into account as it is going up up and up. The amount you are offering is so long ago price’s ,ask Dr Evil, a million doesn’t get you much.
If that is true about inflation and Pittsfield politicians wanting even more money for their campaign coffers and Kufflink’s stash, then I will start a group that raises funds to give tens of thousands of dollars per year to the Lovely Linda, Kufflinks, Trippy Country Buffet, and Chrome Dome. I will recruit Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, and some other billionaires in my new group to shower Pittsfield politicians with money, more money and even more money….
That should do the trick as politicians get more greedy and always want more.
“A brand new website where people who are disgusted with their elected career politicians can order and send bottles of stinky pot smells to City Hall, the Statehouse…” is easily the best sentence I’ve read in ages!
Not sarcasm; how soon can I order a couple of bottles of this awful elixir?
Signed,
Someone who is sick of breathing the weed pollen from the home based grow op in the apartment below me.
So can someone leak the true number of drug deaths occurring in Pittsfield, Ma.? How many for all of 2020? How many so far in 2021? Why does this mayor and local newspaper go to such great lenghts to hide the reality of what is going on in Pittsfield?
Any reputable news organization could get this information in a heartbeat and publish it. So if they don’t, one might wonder why they do not. And they might also wonder if they can trust anything else they report or do not report.
Would also like to know how many taxpayer paid dosages of Narcan are administered to Pittsfield addicts so far in 2021 by our PPD and PFD? In speaking with local police officers and fire fighters these addicts many times need at least two if not three dosages to bring them around, and are then seen several hours later back on the streets ready for their next fix. Most times when they come too after being given Narcan they are very combative with the police and firefighters. Pittsfield police and fireman spend their days dealing with this drug epidemic in Pittsfield. Our police are needed for other issues such as traffic control but two cruisers are stuck babysitting these overdosed addicts, Amazing that our City Council voted to defund our Police Department, yet have NO problem with taxpayers having to pay for the hours our police and fire departments spend on babysitting addicts. People may think they are not paying for Narcan, but the money is coming from somewhere, that somewhere is from us folks that pay federal and state taxes. Berkshire Medical Center is looking the other way and is constantly adding to the epidemic with their completely out of control handout of pain killers at the ER. Meanwhile many hardworking taxpayers are having to pay big prices for their legitimate prescribed medical drugs even with having insurance. Just not right!
Earl Persip and Helen “Handgun” Moon, were the leading advocates for defunding the police. Why? Who knows?
My guess is that both are not really smart people. Do they honestly expect criminals to behave with less police? Maybe in Candyland that happens, but not in Pittsfield or anywhere else in the US.
All of these cities that defunded the police are now having to allocate more funds for the police (Portland, Seattle, etc). Crime is out of control, violent crimes are up ten-fold, and officers are leaving the force, via retirement or other options. What did they think was going to happen? Why would any cop stick around when you aren’t supported by the city you work for?
I consider the source of the “defund the police,” in Pittsfield. Look at Helen Moon. Not only was she proven a liar about her “police encounter,” but even DA Wrong-Way, said she was untrustworthy and lazy. That speaks volumes. If the person who can’t pay their taxes, traffic tickets, and drives the wrong-way down posted one-way streets, calls you a liar, as Keith Jackson used to say, “whoa nellie.”
Don’t trust anything the hate rag writes. They rarely offer numbers and I wouldn’t trust them. They are about brainwashing the community and getting people to react on their feelings, usually fear but sometimes sympathy. This problem has been going on for decades so my suggestion is to seek the information you are looking for elsewhere
The Salt Account.
Why don’t they look into Elizabeth Warren’s plan to solve the opioid crisis with legal marijuana? It’s been over two years, Liz. How’s it going?
In order to keep the facade of it being a dynamic and vibrant city with low figures on anything that would show the city in a bad light, they have to hide and don’t want figures out to diminish the facade. Remember the time when media actually went out and looked into issues and data instead of accepting what they are told they are?
Im surprised that the Fox watcher here are believing that Pittsfield.ma has an isolated problem with drug addiction that is a national scandle the the drug companies promoted and yes please say the truth when speaking of a terrible national scandle these corporations promoted by lying and telling doctors that it was a non addictive painkiller……Makes me sick that the lies told about almost everything is acceptable.America can trace this drug problem to the exact companies who saw billions..to be made …..Billionaires love deregulation and lies.Republican lie and call everthing patriotism…….Trump’s 1st attempt to overthrow our democracy wad January 6th,2021 with bounties on VP Pence and Nancy Pelosi….lie if you want.
Hmm, how many of our leaders are invested in big pharma? They will talk tough and sound good, but in the end nothing will be done with this issue that has been around for sometime. They don’t like biting the hand that feeds them.
I believe there was a lot of drug addiction in the 60’s and 70’s, wasn’t this your era TSC…would explain things, mind just not working. 1/8/21 speaker commits treason
TSC is on preparation H-adone
Look at the numbers and think:
SPECULUM REHAB has 20 facilities in MA;
There are NONE in Boston proper. Por Que?
As quoted by the SPECULUM’s info leaker/mouthpiece, “The company’s facility near Boston treats an average of 200 addicts a day.” That is misleading. Which one? There are at least 10 facilities within the “128” loop.
Quote Dr. Evil, “Throw me a frickin’ bone here!,,,,,,,,,,,,Need the info.” “https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118655/?ref_=tt_ch”
Moving West, Worcester has 4 in town and several within driving distance & Weymouth has 2.
There appear to be none within the Springfield Metro area. Why is this? By design or lack of clients (doubtful).
West of I-91, there are 3 clinics in Berkshire County; North Adams, Great Barrington & the Pits.
My research couldn’t find anything (current as of this date) on the Cape or outer Islands of the Rich & Famous, esp P’town. However, P’Town is seasonal so it’s probably not cost effective to have a facility there).
So, quite possibly, the” 800” client figure is true, if you take into account Great B and the N Adams along with the Pits.
Seems to me that there needs to be more clinics in/around the greater Springfield area instead of shipping them out to the “413” area code!
You can look this 411 up on SPECTRUM’S website.
(Spelling is intentional)
GHOST
Good work. Yes, Springfield has none because shipping them to 413 is the fine print drawn up by the city, Spectrum, and the state, paid out in the form of state grants and city obligations.
Doesn’t surprise me at all!