From Bridget E. Kelly
Every day we read about the growing problem of drugs in our community, in our world. We lament the devastation but we don’t seem to have any clues as to how to get started to tackle this growing problem. This inertia is only leading to more addictions, more deaths, and more crimes.
As a former high school principal, in the Philadelphia area, I have dealt with my horrible share of losing precious students to drugs. On too many occasions, I’ve dealt with the devastation of a community mourning a senseless loss. When I reflect back, my former community was most productive in addressing these issues when we finally came together and acknowledged that this was a community problem, not a government problem. Our business leaders, clergy, educators, parents, coaches, students, police, social agencies, etc. came together to work in cooperation to find solutions. We understood that drug addiction was like a plague. We finally understood that there was no singular solution, only multiple pathways to prevention and intervention. We began to understand we had to find individual treatments to address the unique needs of addicts.
We attacked the problem strategically rather than reactively. To do this, we were led by professionally trained individuals who have experience and knowledge about proven practices. We stopped immediately with any quick fixes which make us feel good about “doing something.” Once we had a few new programs in place, we started to see positive results. Unfortunate, we feel victim to talking ourselves in to believing we had the problem under control, so we stopped with so much of our interventions. Now, like Harford County and so many other places, this community is suffering from heroin deaths on a regular basis. We failed because we did not establish a long term commitment to stay ahead of this plague that is never going away. We failed to understand that this commitment was going to be costly but not nearly as costly as lost lives ad lost potential. I hope we can find the courage and the conviction to do the right thing in Harford County.
Bridget E. Kelly
Candidate for State Senate
District #35
Well, this was a waste of my time. Some vague cautionary tale of how a candidate’s community won and then lost the battle against heroin. With absolutely no factual details or concrete solutions, but at least she got her name out there, right?
Could you imagine the world without drugs? Me either…. The government wouldn’t allow that.
I agree with your comments Fed up…
What was the cure rate statistically Ms. Kelly?
What happened to that Philly School district after the resurgence of heroin addiction crept back in?
What finally became of the area?
What specifically were some of your treatment strategies?
Are you or were you promoting clinics and medication to wean people off drugs? THEY DO NOT WORK!
In fact, the clinics only succeed in deepening the drug culture in one’s neighborhood by bringing in addicts from other areas. The methadone is only one more drug to get addicted on and to be used as currency to trade or procure more heroin. Oh, and the one big thing that is probably in keeping with your political platform is creating a justification for some form of federal grant money.
It is people like you who are the problem. Do you know what you are talking about Ms Kelly? Probably not!!!! AS Fed UP… said YOUR REAL INTEREST IS POLITICAL GAIN…GETTING ELECTED. So, you are complete with feigned sympathy and platitudes. You’ve said absolutely nothing useful.
I agree with your comments Fed up… What was the cure rate statistically Ms. Kelly? What happened to that Philly School district after the resurgence of heroin addiction crept back in? What finally became of the area? What specifically were some of your treatment strategies? Are you or were you promoting clinics and medication to wean people off drugs? THEY DO NOT WORK! In fact, the clinics only succeed in deepening the drug culture in one’s neighborhood by bringing in addicts from other areas. The methadone is only one more drug to get addicted on and be used as a currency to trade or procure heroin. Oh, and the one big thing that is probably in keeping with your political platform is creating a justification for some form of federal grant money.
It is people like you who are the problem. Do you know what you are talking about Ms Kelly? Probably not!!!! AS Fed UP… said YOUR REAL INTEREST IS POLITICAL GAIN…GETTING ELECTED. So, you are complete with feigned sympathy and platitudes. You’ve said absolutely nothing useful.
The biggest hurdle is for Harford County to admit they have a drug problem and I just don’t see that happening.
Try raising your kids yourself instead of allowing them to be raised by MTV and you may have a chance.
If you kids can’t speak English, have no respect for authority, dresses like a thug, smokes weed, is all tatted up, and looks up to gangster rap and the kartrashians as role models….. you have failed as a parent.
Try spending some time with you kids and teach them about the history of the country and of the vets who paid the ultimate price for their freedoms and what a role model should look like. Teach them respect for elders and the rule of law. Teach them that they have to work for what they want in life and stealing it from others is not acceptable under any circumstances. Teach them if they want respect they have to give respect. Teach them to stop making snap judgments and to know all the facts before they jump to a conclusion.
That’ll piss off the parents of the CMW and fallston high druggies.
The top drug schools of haha county.
I checked out Kelly’s website and she has a picture of her an Nancy Pelosi on her homepage. Don’t need to read anything she has to say. No way would I would look further into this candidate’s background or beliefs. No vote for you!
Also, Sorry everyone. I dropped BillH on his head a few too many times. He is an idiot on every board.
Mom you came back from the dead.
Praise the lord.
I’m sorry to hear you’re being so shallow and narrow-minded and basing your entire opinion on one picture.
*entire opinion of a candidate
I especially like those Methadone programs that substitute the Heroin for Methadone. A taxpayer funded high like none other. Don’t those places realize they are supposed to decrease dosage to get people off that crap. None of them are doing this. They just keep signing people up and the money keeps rolling in.
First time I’ve heard someone interested or in public office admit the obvious – thanks!
A few years ago, Harford County battled traffic deaths and Oxy. Today, it is traffic deaths on our roadways, and heroin deaths.
I’m hoping it comes true a lot of APG people get BRAC’d again, and out of here. Several thousand less “me first” types honking their horns and driving recklessly around here.
Job loss is not fun for anyone.
Bridget E. Kelly,
I am not sure i would support your entire platform Mrs. Kelly, i sure agree with the statement you made asserting that this is a COMMUNITY not a GOVERNMENT problem. That’s refreshing to hear. As many other posters have noted in their replies, government solutions to the problem actually exacerbate the problem.
We live in a society that has been granted a vast amount of freedom and security based on the efforts of our forefathers both by arms and laws. What we have now is a very spoiled and increasingly immoral culture that stands to lose all the gains we were blessed with. This security has caused us (as a nation) to lose our moral integrity. It was that moral compass that would fight against spiritual illnesses of crime, drug abuse and the like.
“this is a COMMUNITY not a GOVERNMENT problem.” This IS a government problem. They started it, fuel it, encourage it and if that fails then they (government) subsidize it. Now they want others to deal with their failure, missteps’ and poor management and expect community (churches mostly) and charities to guide, house, educate and provide monies to THIER (government) misguided children. The “government” has over time taken away parents rights and responsibilities, courts and Law Enforcement because “politicians” know better than YOU. Parents need to be parents and Judges need to be Judges. And I know not every road will be full of cherry trees and roses. BUT, the “government” has done a LOUSY job so far of holding true to their “promise” to make things better for all. PS. ANY candidate I see in a “photo op” with OWE’Bama, Pelosi, Reid, Mikulski, Cummings or OWE’Malley will NOT get my vote nor support. When you see those folks, you KNOW they’re going straight to your wallet/purse.
gotts say the NANCY POLosi. that, did it for me..if it’s on the internet it true!
if it’d nancy POLOSI..AND YOU THINK SHE A WIN’er enough said…tie your boat to an anchor..chd
The heroin epidemic in Baltimore is not new nor, did it explode. It has resurfaced due to an uptick in interest brought on by those who have become addicted to prescription opiods and opiates. That has taken place in suburban areas such as Harford County.. There has been a heroin epidemic in Baltimore since, the 40’s. It was one of the 1st cities to be plagued with heroin since, early importation. Think geographically. In fact, Baltimore has and has had for sometime per capita one of if not the highest number of intravenous drug users with heroin being the chief intravenous illegal drug used. You need to check your history.
Therefore, just so you internalize this let me reiterate that the uptick in heroin use is directly due to the increase prescription of opiates and opioids. “Oxycodone”, etc…. When the scripts run out the prescription opioids or opiates users go down to the city and buy heroin and there becomes a drug addict exchange program of people in the drug culture. That’s how you get your migration of the drugs to the suburbs. It is all opium based.
Furthermore, you fools need to stop blaming President Obama. This is all due to President George W. Bush’s enactment of legislation increasing the medical drug benefit. INcluded in that law was the allowance of pharmaceutical manufacturers to increase what they create and produce. That’s what made the opioids newly derived opiates available in the first place.
Many of the same suburbanites who were prescribed opioids became addicted and their kids got into the medicine cabinet. It was predicted at the time the law was enacted that an illegal suburban heroin epidemic would be created and become the fallout. That is why you have a heroin epidemic in the suburbs.
Your ignorance of how the problem developed is only outdone by your ignorance of how to eradicate it! There is a way out but, it is not through, federally administered programs or grants to treatment clinics administering methadone. Junkies don’t die from withdrawal they just get very, verey nauseous.