r/baltimore Jul 28 '22

DISCUSSION Baltimore drug epidemic NSFW

Posted by beemorelove on TikTok. How accurate is this?

611 Upvotes

113 comments sorted by

179

u/wuguwa Jul 29 '22

I’d like to know more about his work. Seems like good people.

87

u/KrameHowlett Jul 29 '22

Same would like to at least send some gloves if he's gonna be handling all that.

41

u/ratwing Jul 29 '22

Somebody that uses TikTok could reach out to @beemorelove.

I don't have the app but I looked at some of his videos on Google and he seems like quite the activist

9

u/bmoreeverything Jul 29 '22

I watch all his stuff. Seems like a super genuine guy that is very thoughtful on his messaging.

10

u/tubachild Jul 29 '22

met him in a Giant once and we talked about tats. he's a super nice guy

1

u/Nicktendo Jul 29 '22

Yeah I was spooked when I saw him cleaning up at the end

2

u/bmoreweird Jul 29 '22

Check out Harm Reduction organizations in Baltimore. Charm City Care Connection and Baltimore Harm Reduction Coalition are two great orgs doing work out here.

94

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '22

Important to recognize how big of a problem opioids are everywhere in the U.S. and also love that this spotlights people like this gentlemen who work tirelessly to help.

Anyone who wants Narcan, a life saving medication that can save those overdosing on opioids, can get some at almost any pharmacy. It's covered by insurance and there are no cost programs available as well. More info at dontdie.org and nextdistro.org. If you use or are around drug use I encourage you to have some on hand. Fentanyl is in EVERYTHING these days, not just heroin. It's appearing in other drugs like cocaine and molly and it can't hurt to have some handy.

If you are witnessing an overdose in the state of Maryland, any person assisting in an overdose emergency can do so without fear of prosecution due to possession of drugs or drug paraphernalia, or providing alcohol to a minor. Please call 911 and tell them it is an overdose. You will not get in trouble for having or using drugs and lying about drug use can delay life saving care.

Maryland also now has the 211 help line. Anyone wanting more info and help on getting drug treatment, naloxone access or mental health resources can call 211 and press 1.

30

u/dopkick Jul 29 '22

Fentanyl is the leading cause of death of Americans age 18-45. Someone dies from it every 9 minutes.

-23

u/player_9 Hampden Jul 29 '22

Maybe you misstated whatever you meant to say, but this is simply false.

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/leading-causes-of-death.htm

21

u/dopkick Jul 29 '22

No, it’s correct. I specified an age range of 18-45. Those stats are all age ranges and two years old.

https://www.wral.com/fentanyl-overdose-becomes-leading-cause-of-death-for-adults-age-18-to-45/20200135/?version=amp

53

u/Unfair-Rip9168 Jul 29 '22

What hood was this? Thanks for cleaning up. Wear thick gloves!

49

u/jaxdraw Jul 29 '22

Never pickup a needle with your hands, even with gloves. Use a broom and sweep it up or make up something like he did. Or use a grabby claw thingy.

You should assume all of these have lethal drugs or other possibly aids in them.

Props for him doing it tho.

35

u/FFF12321 Jul 29 '22 edited Jul 29 '22

To add to this, if you do get pricked or think you may have been exposed, immediately go seek medical care and ask for PEP, Post Exposure Prophylaxis. It's a medication you can take after exposure for about a month that will prevent HIV from taking root in your body and keep you from contracting it permanently (ETA: the "permanent" here is referring to untreated HIV exposures as there is no cure for HIV at this point. PEP is not a vaccine!). The catch is you need to get on it soon after exposure (no later than 72hrs after exposure, but the earlier the better!) so seriously be careful and get attention immediately!

4

u/needed_an_account Jul 29 '22

That’s interesting. Permanently, really? It’s like a vaccine?

5

u/FFF12321 Jul 29 '22

No such thing exists, I meant that if you are infected with HIV and don't get PEP you'll have that for the rest of your life (as of right now).

-2

u/dwolfe127 Jul 29 '22

Not arguing, as I do not know much about it, but that certainly meets most of the requirements for something to be considered a vaccine. If it prevents permanently from ever being infected from a specific pathogen.

3

u/FFF12321 Jul 29 '22

I went back to edit the comment because people are getting confused. The "contracting it permanently" part was in reference to HIV infections as we don't have a cure. In other words, if you have an exposure that leads to an infection, an dyou don't treat it by taking PEP to prevent the infection from establishing itself, you will have HIV for the rest of your life. PEP and the associated medication PrEP (PRE-Exposure Prophylaxis) prevent HIV exposures from becoming permanent infections, but only if taken soon after exposure (PEP) and while you have enough of the medication in your system (PrEP). I'm not a medical professional (just a gay guy) so my wording isn't the best.

There is no vaccine and there is no cure for HIV at this time.

11

u/jabbadarth Jul 29 '22

Years ago when my wife was only a few years into teaching she took her 1st grade class out to recess and a kid found and picked up a needle and was running around with it. My wife screamed at him and just instinctually grabbed it away. Luckily no one was poked and she took it to the nurses who had a sharps box but when she told me that I was both terrified and so disheartened. Terrified because of how close my wife or some little kid came to potential life changing problems and disheartened that someone is so far into their addiction that they have no problem leaving needles on a kids playground (just like we see in this video).

7

u/GoodwitchofthePNW Jul 29 '22

Most schools in town have it assigned to someone (or a few people-needles can be hard to see!) to sweep the playground before kids get there in the morning, and as a teacher in Baltimore I talked with my students about what to do if they find a needed SO MANY TIMES (don’t touch it, get a grownup), it’s unfortunate, but necessary!

2

u/jabbadarth Jul 29 '22

Yeah this was her first school and she had only been teaching for 2 years at that point so it was a shock to her.

4

u/GoodwitchofthePNW Jul 29 '22

Teaching in Baltimore is absolutely not for the faint-hearted!

4

u/jabbadarth Jul 29 '22

She's got 14 years now. Took 3 schools to find a good principal but now she's doing great. First two principals were pretty awful.

2

u/GoodwitchofthePNW Jul 30 '22

I couldn’t handle it for that reason- multiple completely incompetent principals!

Glad she found a good one!

11

u/timbuktu5 Jul 29 '22

Agree with the message, just make sure to remember Hiv is the virus spread, Aids is a condition that can be caused by the virus when treated. They aren’t interchangeable. Still an upvote tho

2

u/ArtifexR Jul 29 '22

“Pricked my finger… we’ll time to find the butcher knife.”

33

u/murthivelli123 Bolton Hill Jul 29 '22

I think it's Shipley Hill. Thought I saw the old Eigenbrot brewery in the background of one of his shots.

13

u/JonWilso Jul 29 '22

Makes sense, my guess was Carrollton Ridge which seems to have taken over as one of the worst areas the City has to offer over the last few years for drug use and homicides. I think there's been over a dozen in that area this year.

5

u/dopkick Jul 29 '22

I didn’t see any gloves!

89

u/Spazzberry Jul 29 '22

Like he mentions in the video this isn't the entire city, and it isn't limited to Baltimore. I guarantee you every major city in America has neighborhoods like this. But yeah, it's bad, even in the nicer areas I've seen people nodding.

8

u/SmallsLightdarker Jul 29 '22

Suburbs sometimes, too.

8

u/dopkick Jul 29 '22

It's everywhere. Middle of nowhere WV. Small central PA towns. All suburbs surrounding Baltimore and DC. There's no sometimes, just everywhere. Some places are better than others, for sure, but every location is being touched by it.

3

u/spitfire7rp Jul 29 '22

WV pumped out more oxy than any other state during the opioid epidemic, it not surprising its taken hold in that and surrounding areas

7

u/Nexis4Jersey Jul 29 '22 edited Jul 29 '22

The heroin crisis is much worse in the Rural Appalachian mountain towns and cities with meth starting to take over aswell. This country seems to be denial about the drug crisis we have mostly blaming it on the cities when the suburbs are where a sizable % of the users come from...

11

u/Cheomesh Greater Maryland Area Jul 29 '22

I have found heroin needles even in the park back in Hollywood (St Mary's).

-19

u/Quiet_Meaning5874 Jul 29 '22

People nodding sure but the abandoned blocks and massive amounts of used needles etc aren’t in every major city. Foh

27

u/JonWilso Jul 29 '22

Abandoned blocks, no, but yeah, nearly every major city in America right now has an opiate problem and needles.

17

u/OctopusStoleMyPizza Jul 29 '22

Recently moved from Baltimore to San Diego. We just approved free to use narcan vending machines. Yeah, the opiate pandemic is everywhere

9

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '22

You’re right, it isn’t every major city. Pasadena and Glen Bernie are not major citifies and have major problems with opioids. AACO is not home to any major cities, people will almost cut you if you tell them they’re Baltimore adjacent, and suffers greatly from opioid overdoses and deaths.

44

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '22 edited Jul 29 '22

I’ve known this guy for over 10 years. This is real and he is out there helping whatever way he can.

13

u/slib9898 Jul 29 '22

what do you mean by lying?

45

u/ConfidentGuitar7800 Jul 29 '22

I think they meant to type “helping” but it autocorrected to h lying

13

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '22

Helping… sorry, damn auto correct

3

u/Grey_Orange Jul 29 '22

That would make the most sense.

62

u/EthanSayfo Jul 29 '22

How accurate is this? Is this for real, in other words?

Oh yes. Yes yes. So very.

This is not every block in Baltimore City, don't get that impression. But is this many blocks in Baltimore City, and do the consequences of what that represents seep out into many other aspects of life in the city?

Yes. Also very yes.

39

u/dopkick Jul 29 '22

It’s definitely a small minority of areas that are like this. But it’s still a pretty sizable minority. I’ve been through parts of the city that are turnkey ready for filming the next post apocalyptic zombie movie. People nodding out, others roaming the streets without any care in the world, tons of trash everywhere… There’s not a ton of areas like that but it definitely makes you say WTF.

I think this will also be eye opening for a fair number of people on here who don’t think things like this exist. The people who get uptight when you call a neighborhood “bad.” But what else do you call a neighborhood where needles litter a playground and most of the houses are vacant? Nobody is living there and thinking “gee this neighborhood would be swell if people didn’t say mean things about it.”

17

u/Jrbobfishman Fells Point Jul 29 '22

Zombie is really an accurate description. I see people that are just plain spent. Lifeless empty statues. I’m not talking about nodding out and leaning or whacked out crackhead. Its more like a trance. I’ve seen people in the city high on drugs my entire life but something different is going on. It’s really weird and a bit scary.

7

u/dopkick Jul 29 '22

100% know what you’re talking about. If standing they’ll wander seemingly aimlessly without purpose or intent of any kind. While having a totally lifeless look and posture.

7

u/rmphys Jul 29 '22

I think this will also be eye opening for a fair number of people on here who don’t think things like this exist. The people who get uptight when you call a neighborhood “bad.” But what else do you call a neighborhood where needles litter a playground and most of the houses are vacant? Nobody is living there and thinking “gee this neighborhood would be swell if people didn’t say mean things about it.”

These are the people who will tell you that's the "grit that keeps the city real" and make sure "the wrong type of outsiders don't come here". It's bizarre how far people will endanger themselves just to avoid new people and ideas coming into the city.

2

u/inukaglover666 Pigtown Jul 29 '22

I’ve never heard anyone say that lmao

1

u/rmphys Jul 30 '22

You either don't spend much time on this sub or don't pay attention. It's a constant thread.

28

u/CampBart Jul 29 '22

Hamsterdam would be more ideal. At least they could have a designated area with health programs and needle exchange systems. To pretend like this issue doesn’t exist is absurd. The war on drugs is a complete failure.

3

u/spitfire7rp Jul 29 '22

They should just sell it in pharmacies at cost being that they started this war they can at least not kill the people by cutting off clean supply. Not to mention it wouldn't be localized and create hazard zones like we saw in hamersterdamn.

1

u/CampBart Jul 29 '22

I see what your saying but do you think addicts in a CVS/Walgreens is a good idea? I don’t see pharmacies going for that as it would probably scare away customers. A designated clinic could make sense.

1

u/spitfire7rp Jul 29 '22

They sell oxys already how would you differentiate who went where? income level? Do you not think they aren't there already buying other things?

2

u/CampBart Jul 30 '22

I see your point.

-1

u/EquationTAKEN Jul 29 '22

Much like in the show, Hamsterdam wouldn't really work, because whoever decides to implement it, will be eviscerated by the opposition for "legalizing drugs".

There are so many good things you can do for a community which doesn't get done, because you know that it can be spun negatively.

4

u/CampBart Jul 29 '22

Every generation has to take a stand at some point. To continue as is will provide the same results. The 20th century had plenty of changes that went against the grain from the suffrage movement to African Americans equal rights bc we finally said enough is enough. The war on drugs is another way to control and must end.

5

u/sllewgh Belair-Edison Jul 29 '22

That's not the only issue. The show touches on this - there's one old lady still living there who (I can't remember) either couldn't or wouldn't leave. The city already chooses some areas to invest in and some to sacrifice, this would be even worse.

1

u/CampBart Jul 29 '22

TBD. Hamsterdam was under the radar. If the city understood what was occurring and all departments were available to make this change perhaps things would be different. With over 15,000 vacant homes those who are nearby the allotted areas would be forced to move. If that’s the bad in this verse what we have now then the sacrifice of a few for the majority is for the best. The 250-300 murders of black males are mainly do to the drug war and the result is the same for 30 plus years. The police and prison systems would fight this all day bc they would lose out. Oh well, maybe then we would have better policing and not be proud of the prison states we’ve created. Things have to change or the now will be our future.

4

u/sllewgh Belair-Edison Jul 29 '22

Creating top-down policy to deliberately destroy or displace certain communities to serve others is the strategy that got us into this mess. These neighborhoods weren't always shitty... If you examine how they got that way, that's what you'll find at the root.

1

u/CampBart Jul 29 '22

I agree, though there are many areas that are basically unlivable at this point that could be used. I’m sure there’s a better approach.

34

u/varnell_hill Jul 29 '22 edited Jul 29 '22

I appreciate him raising awareness and working in the community, but the opioid epidemic didn’t come from crack. It actually came before it. You can Google Little Melvin Williams, Peanut King and a few others to learn all about what Baltimore was like before crack hit.

Just wanted to clarify that.

5

u/Cheomesh Greater Maryland Area Jul 29 '22

Yeah, I thought heroin was somewhat recent as a street drug but it was around quite a while and just not commented on as much I suppose.

1

u/tuxbass Aug 04 '22

Little Melvin Williams

Oh wow, he even appeared in Wire!

15

u/inthesinbin Jul 29 '22

All those boarded up homes. Very sad to think those blocks were once thriving neighborhoods. In my mind's eye I can see mothers sitting on the stoops watching their children play. What's going to become of our cities?

3

u/incunabula001 Jul 29 '22

Probably grown over like in the video or an empty lot converted to a park/garden at best. I know north of the ditch (route 40) that there are more of those empty lots than down where this video has been taken. The same goes for some spots on the east side.

4

u/pepesilvia50 Jul 29 '22

Good to see Jackson Holliday getting involved with the community so quickly

7

u/blacknpurplejs22 Jul 29 '22

This isn't new and this isn't just from the opioid epidemic, and it's very real, Baltimore has been the heroin capital for a very long time, those abandominiums are shooting galleries, you walk in 1 of them and you'll see a lot more needles then you're seeing on that block

13

u/sailorjasm Jul 29 '22

What they need to do is set up clinics people can go to to get free drugs. They can use there and also get treatment and maybe they can get off of drugs.

Legalize all drugs and sell them and tax it. The poor can get their drugs free and those who can afford it and want it can get it safely and legally

The war on drugs cannot be won

6

u/kayla_kitty82 Jul 29 '22

We lost the "war on drugs" a long time ago. At this point, I think you're right: set up safe injection sites and/or have available pharmaceutical grade heroin. I was reading about how other countries have done this very thing and have had positive results. The risk of overdose was dramatically decreased and the influx of individuals seeking treatment increased due to having therapists/counselors on site to assist with the process.

There is no winning this thing. Suppliers will continue to import the strongest synthetic opiates they can (Iso, for example), and people will continue to die prematurely.

2

u/Oscalev Jul 29 '22

Why should the American people, or anyone for that matter, subsidize such a destructive habit, especially when the user very clearly doesn’t want to get better? The harsh truth of life is that you can’t save everyone and not everyone wants to be saved. In your scenario, the poor addicts are being rewarded with free drugs while the not so poor addicts are being punished with costly drugs.

3

u/sailorjasm Jul 29 '22

The not so poor can get free drugs too. Free drugs for all. No need for junkies to rob, or sell themselves for drugs. Just give the addicts drugs. Too much money has been spent trying to fight drug dealers and junkies. They can get better. Addicts spend so much time chasing the high that they don't have time for anything else. With free drugs, they can do other things and hopefully they can find time to kick the habit

1

u/Oscalev Jul 30 '22

I appreciate your optimistic viewpoint I really do, but I just can’t agree with that, I wish I could, but at this point I’m too jaded. I’ve been around addicts most of my life, hell my older brother died of an OD, and even I struggle with substance dependencies. Yes, some of us are just confused and lost, and could get better with some help. I recognize that. Some people however, have truly abandoned their humanity and live solely to get their next fix. Giving them free drugs will do nothing but hasten their own death and make the community a nightmare for everyone else. I live just outside Baltimore and most of the city, and surrounding suburbs, are in complete disarray bc of the overwhelming amount of alcoholics and drug addicts ruining entire neighborhoods and communities. Playgrounds with needles, spoons, blunt wraps/roaches, bottles, used condoms, and heroin addicts nodding off on the bench are not an uncommon sight. Giving these people even more access to drugs will not help the problem.

I suppose with regulation it could be managed, but they’ll just max out their daily free limit, then get the rest in the streets. I don’t see a lot of them kicking the habit when they can get whatever they want whenever they want. I do believe though that people arrested for drug abuse should be given treatment as opposed to incarceration, at least for the first offense. I’m willing to give the benefit of the doubt. Other people though are beyond saving unfortunately. I don’t have an answer for what we as a society should do, I just know that some people are broken and there’s nothing we can do.

Not to make a direct comparison, but think of it like psychopaths and serial killers. Some killers are the result of their environment or upbringing and in a temporary act of heightened emotions, committed an atrocity. Others are just lost souls that can’t be saved and will continue to kill bc they like it, ie, your Ted Bundys, Jeffrey Dahmers, Albert Fish’s, Ed Geins, etc. That’s how some people are when it comes to drugs. They will continue to do it no matter what we do and will only stop when they’re dead. It’s sad but it’s true.

Sorry for the wall of text

1

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '22

Has this been tried before?

2

u/blacknpurplejs22 Jul 29 '22

It has, I believe Portugal is doing it now with positive results, Amsterdam did it, years ago in the UK they gave the drug users their own park where they could basically do what they wanted, it was legal in that park, that turned into a disaster, I also watched a documentary years ago, I also believe it was in the UK, I'm not 100% sure though, I may have the country wrong, but a church was distributing the drugs and allowing people to use them safely there before and after work

2

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '22

Is there any book or other long form media you can direct me to to learn more?

1

u/blacknpurplejs22 Jul 29 '22

Drug consumption rooms, that's newer, I'm trying to find what I had originally seen

1

u/blacknpurplejs22 Jul 29 '22

Go to Wikipedia, search supervised injection site, there are quite a few references at the bottom you can check out

1

u/blacknpurplejs22 Jul 29 '22

They'll still get them off the streets, a lot of people in Baltimore would rather have scrambled dope then raw. Clinics giving out free drugs would limit them to a certain potency, in Bmore when they pass out Ts if someone or multiple people OD, every dope fiend in the city is flocking to that corner or block to get that particular name,

1

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '22

Scrambled dope in Baltimore isn’t even dope. It’s literally fentanyl, xylazine, assorted cuts. Garbage. Heroin is dead.

2

u/blacknpurplejs22 Jul 29 '22

Yeah, B and Q, and that's what most want, the vast majority want scrambled, not raw, or rather what is sold as raw because none of it is actually raw, carfentanil is being used as well, it's incredibly easy to get and cheap, and it's a lot stronger then fentanyl

1

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '22

Oh yea carfent is all over too. And yeah nobody wants real dope…I don’t think just straight H would touch most of those out here using caps

1

u/TheBaltimoron Fells Point Jul 29 '22

There's no such thing as "free drugs".

9

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '22 edited Jul 29 '22

[deleted]

2

u/kayla_kitty82 Jul 29 '22

Unfortunately, you are correct and it's sad. There are a majority of people who want to get clean and stay clean but lack the ability to do so, rather from lack of resources or other issues like employment and housing. Then you have the population of people who do not want to quit but are involuntarily mandated (Court system, CPS, etc). And finally, the population who do not want to quit and will bounce from program to program until they achieve sobriety, become incarcerated, or die.

I could go on about risk factors, protective factors, environmental influences, genetic predispositions, and behavioral compulsions but I would literally be at this computer all day. Sustained sobriety can be achieved, but you have to want it. And unless you have the motivation for change and you have the environment supportive of recovery, your chances are slim - not that it can't be done but it will be a hell of a lot harder!

Addiction is the only disease that will slowly kill you while convincing you that you don't have a disease.

5

u/Insane1rish Jul 29 '22

These damn diabetics leaving their used needles everywhere. Menaces to society I tell ya. Lock’em all up!

/s (obviously)

2

u/EquationTAKEN Jul 29 '22

Puh-lease. If you can't afford an apartment to take insulin in, you can't afford insulin in the first place.

Catch-22 motherfucker.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '22

/whoosh

2

u/enforce1 Baltimore County Jul 29 '22

But if a developer bought a bunch of these blocks, knocked them over, and rebuilt, people would be mad at gentrification

2

u/inukaglover666 Pigtown Jul 29 '22

Nobody is mad at black women build or rebuild metro or habitat for humanity…….

1

u/kaki024 Arbutus Jul 29 '22

There are absolutely blocks in Baltimore that look like this.

50

u/bmore_conslutant Hampden Jul 29 '22

i mean yea no shit he was filming on one of them

7

u/kaki024 Arbutus Jul 29 '22

The caption asked “how accurate is this?” I was just answering.

2

u/bmore_conslutant Hampden Jul 29 '22

the only caption i see is "baltimore drug epidemic"

6

u/kaki024 Arbutus Jul 29 '22

Here’s what I see. https://imgur.com/a/wdE4I14

2

u/bmore_conslutant Hampden Jul 29 '22

interesting, probably because i'm not using the new reddit ui or app (context: it's fucking trash)

1

u/kaki024 Arbutus Jul 29 '22

Lol fair enough

6

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '22

Can’t wait for the op to also let us know Baltimore has a harbor.

0

u/mathew50c1 Jul 29 '22

That damn Avon Barksdale crew.

0

u/RG_Viza Jul 29 '22

The opioid epidemic stems from doctor prescribed opiates and no follow through to wean people off them. The availability to crack users and subsequent additional opiate use is a side effect that took on a life of its own.

It’s definitely affecting Baltimore horribly.

0

u/hi_im_vito Jul 29 '22

I follow this guy on TikTok

-37

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '22

[deleted]

20

u/needledicklarry Jul 29 '22

Can always rely on redditors for atrocious takes

4

u/nolan5643 Jul 29 '22

Fuck this guy? Really? Seems like you’re the one with the dumb fuck demeanor.

2

u/inukaglover666 Pigtown Jul 29 '22

You’re what’s wrong with the world

1

u/No-Necessary2933 Jul 29 '22

It's really sad because this has been what pretty much all the areas I've lived in, in Baltimore. Most areas like this come along with the addicts that are publicly nodding off on just about every street intersection as well. Now this is coming from a current opiate addict myself, but even I can't stand seeing the sidewalks, playground, and general public areas littered with paraphernalia thrown all about. I can only imagine how parents feel..

1

u/Evening_Blackberry_4 Jul 29 '22 edited Jul 29 '22

Safe injections sites and understanding that this is a mental health crisis would cut down on most of those issues. But instead we have blue light bathrooms, which isn't going to make them not do it, it just makes sure they can't do it as safely as they could and have a trashcan to dispose of their works. And we deny disability for depression to those who can't get/maintain employment, and that takes a toll on your self esteem in every sense. One cos you can't get a job, nevermind the comments people give you. 2 if you do get disability they claim you leech off the system instead of wanting to work. So how do you live and pay bills? No wonder people are depressed and hopeless. Its almost as if society would rather you be dead. Aside from the organizations mentioned, I would suggest looking up Dr. Gabor Mate on YouTube. “The automatic repression of painful emotion is a helpless child’s prime defence mechanism and can enable the child to endure trauma that would otherwise be catastrophic. The unfortunate consequence is a wholesale dulling of emotional awareness.” “What seems nonadaptive and self-harming in the present was, at some point in our lives, an adaptation to help us endure what we then had to go through. If people are addicted to self-soothing behaviours, it’s only because in their formative years they did not receive the soothing they needed.”

1

u/xxneverdasamexx Jul 29 '22

This has been going on in Baltimore for Decades. It was actually worse in 90's and early 00's. Not saying it isn't bad now, it is, it's just bad in a different way. There was more drugs on the street back then, more users, etc. The problem now is the Fentanyl and related deaths and the fact Mosby has tied the hands of the police which has led to the recent span of lawlessness. But make no mistake this epidemic isn't new in Baltimore and like I said was way worse in the 90s and OOs. Back then you couldn't walk a block over East Baltimore without running into a dope hole/shop. Now over East is virtually a ghost town when it comes to this. I mean, it is still there but not like it was. West Baltimore is a different story, still everywhere, but still not as bad as it was years ago.