President to Addicts: Please die

While accurate estimates seem to be hard to come by, it looks like several hundred thousand up to one million Americans use heroin each year. Thousands overdose. Fortunately for many of them, there exists a nasal spray, Narcan, that instantly counteracts the overdose. It is easy to administer, cheap to provide and saves lives.

Unsurprisingly, the Bush Administration would rather those addicts die than have access to this life-saving medicine.

Dr. Bertha Madras, deputy director of the White House Office on National Drug Control Policy, opposes the use of Narcan in overdose-rescue programs.

"First of all, I don't agree with giving an opioid antidote to non-medical professionals. That's No. 1," she says. "I just don't think that's good public health policy."

Madras says drug users aren't likely to be competent to deal with an overdose emergency. More importantly, she says, Narcan kits may actually encourage drug abusers to keep using heroin because they know overdosing isn't as likely.

Right. And knowing that surgery exists makes people more likely to play Russian Roulette. What's she's saying is akin to saying that those at risk for HIV shouldn't be allowed to buy condoms because maybe then they'll be less likely to have sex.

Her others points are equally stupid. Do you have to be a doctor to use a defibrillator? Do you have to be a fireman to use a fire extinguisher? Maybe we should take those life-saving technologies out of office buildings and homes.

This is a simple case of the Administration not liking the underlying behavior and seeking to punish those who practice it. Not too many people think taking heroin is a positive thing, and if there are ways to deter its use, fantastic. But purposefully making addicts less likely to survive an overdose is criminally immoral and hateful.

"Sometimes having an overdose, being in an emergency room, having that contact with a health care professional is enough to make a person snap into the reality of the situation and snap into having someone give them services," Madras says.

And sometimes having an overdose, you just die when there's no Narcan kit available. Tough luck, I guess.