SB 23 puts Naloxone in the hands of overdose lifesavers
We all know heroin is killing more of our loved ones.
Sen. Johnny Ellis of Anchorage and cosponsor, Sen. Dennis Egan of Juneau, have a bill, Senate Bill 23 that would allow a medication that stops overdoses, Naloxone, to be distributed at pharmacies over the counter and by trained agencies. It has already passed the Senate. Please email your House member. Ask them to support SB 23 in its entirety.
Other states have already passed the same laws. Those states include Arkansas, California, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, and Wisconsin, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
Naloxone is a medication that blocks the effects of opioids (heroin and other opiate painkillers). It is administered to someone who is experiencing an overdose quite easily by lay people, such as friends and family members. It is safe and doesn't have any abuse features. It stops the overdose and saves the person's life.
According to the CDC, from 2003 to 2013 heroin use has increased 286 percent and from 1996-2014, community-based programs reported 26,463 overdoses were reversed as a result of getting more naloxone kits into the hands of community members. Because friends, family, and other people using it are usually the first people to have contact with someone having an opioid overdose — being able to administer naloxone immediately saves lives.
Please email your House member and share this with others. Let's stop heroin.
In Juneau we have a group forming: Stop Heroin — Start Talking. We are working with the Juneau Police Department, local businesses and the community as a whole to prevent deaths from heroin, educate the public, and remove stigma to the families, allowing healing and understanding.
— Michele "Stu" Morgan
Stop Heroin-Start Talking
Juneau
Obama trip disappoints by not addressing economic future
Over a half century ago John F. Kennedy visited Alaska and spoke at the Alaska State Fair in Palmer. It was indeed an exciting time and his vision of Alaska calling for the development of its resources was welcomed and applauded by Democrats and Republicans alike.
The previous visits by both President Clinton and candidate Nixon were much more exciting and memorable as well. They openly met with several people and were welcomed by the many during their stay.
Last month President Obama graced Alaska with a visit and like many Alaskans I was excited the leader of the Free World was coming to visit our great state. Unfortunately I was saddened, and somewhat disappointed by his visit. Instead of using the backdrop of the state for world-class development to ensure a viable future for all Alaskans he used the backdrop for preaching a message of global warming.
Not one word on encouraging civil debate on political and economic issues was forthcoming and he held our entire congressional delegation at arms length during his visit. The president practiced the politics of exclusion which he had actually said he would not during his campaigns.
The president announced grants to some rural areas, albeit small compared to the cost of the visit, and hardly worth the cost of the trip.
Collectively the president looked more like partisan-in-chief than president of the world's greatest country.
— Perry Green
Anchorage
TransCanada deal may have high gains, but is risk affordable?
The ADN article"Report: Alaska LNG could …" (Oct. 6) mentions both in the title and the subtitle what "could" happen if Alaska bought the TransCanada share for about $100 million. Then the article is full of the billions the state "would" make. I am thinking the editor who writes the headlines has some doubts about what may actually happen while the reporter speaks with unrealistic confidence and assurance the state will make large returns.
Here are some reasons I am with the editor on this one. The state's past attempts at running a business are abysmal. Exxon and friends have proven time and time again they get anything they want from our Legislature. The future is increasingly hard to predict and at best it will be 11 years before gas flows. The price of natural gas has to be high to pay off a $65 billion debt and make a profit. Will Exxon find a way to ship from the North Slope on a much warmer Arctic Ocean? Could there be a large petroleum discovery in Asia that could make an important market vanish.
In some ways, we are broke. Let the industry take care of itself. Producers are too quick to take advantage of us. Never invest what you cannot afford to lose. Do not just dream the high gains, focus on affordable risk.
— Rod McCoy
Anchorage
Hiding justice to keep conviction
"With liberty and justice for all," words first written in 1892, are just a myth if members of the bar are allowed to argue strict adherence process outweighs the importance of dispensing justice.
That's the argument prosecutor Adrienne Bachman makes by saying a jury of 12 convicted the Fairbanks Four and it shouldn't matter that a new eyewitness says he and his friends were the real murderers.
"Trial by jury is the bedrock of our system," she said. Our forefathers however employed the best tools available at the time to assure all accused have the benefit of unwavering, steadfast, commitment to the discovery of truth and dispensing of justice.
Justice is the bedrock of our system; adherence to process is not. Prosecutors who hide mother justice to sustain a conviction are, in my opinion, unfit to practice law. Whether new evidence, heretofore undetectable DNA, or new witnesses, the slightest hint of a miscarriage of justice warrants, at the very least, a new trial.
— Ray Metcalfe
Anchorage
Ship LNG through open seaway
Gas pipeline? We don't need no stinking pipeline!
Liquefy the natural gas, on site, on the North Slope and send it to markets east and west on existing transport ships.
The Northwest Passage is open. Let's use it.
Just think of the money we'll save.
— Ken Flynn
Anchorage
The views expressed here are the writers' own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a letter for consideration, email letters@alaskadispatch.com, or click here to submit via any web browser. Submitting a letter to the editor constitutes granting permission for it to be edited for clarity, accuracy and brevity. Send longer works of opinion to commentary@alaskadispatch.com.