Tuesday 16 March 2010

Perverse incentives

Feast your eyes on this:

A DRUG addict from Kilmarnock has been receiving prescription methadone for the past 22 YEARS.

The 38-year-old, who wishes to remain anonymous, told how he was put on the drug at 16 after developing a heroin addiction at the age of just 12.

Amazingly, he claims it wasn’t until January this year that he received correspondence outlining plans to help him become drug-free.

“I’m the first to admit that over the years I could have done more to help myself, but surely it shouldn’t take 22 years on methadone for somebody to look at my file and realise something needs done.


Jesus. 22 fucking years and no-one thought to ask the skaghead about getting off the shit???????

What the fuck are the doctors taking in that place?

OK, so another day, another fuckup by the NHS, nothing exciting there, is there? No, not really. But this caused me to black out from rage:

“The problem as I see it is that there is no real incentive to come off methadone. Often people receive more benefits as they can claim sickness and disability through their drug dependency. So they’re getting more money than the average benefit claimant and, essentially, you’re getting your drugs free.


Just remind about this fucking "safety net" idea again?

Tip of the clown wig to RantinRab.

21 comments:

Uncle Marvo said...

It costs around a fiver a dose.

The cunt owes £40k.

Take his house and sell it.

That's what the government would do if you owed it to them, wouldn't bat an eyelid. I know.

Sympathy? Comes somewhere between shit and syphilis in the dictionary.

I am in a right strop today. I need mischief to do.

JuliaM said...

"...I’m the first to admit that over the years I could have done more to help myself, but surely it shouldn’t take 22 years on methadone for somebody to look at my file and realise something needs done."

Typical state-conditioned drone. It's always someone else's responsibility...

RantinRab said...

They also get extra money if they have a pet to feed.

So, we're also paying for their pit bulls.

Fidel Cuntstruck said...

Why oh why don't we just look at the maths here, the £5 dose of Methadone is immaterial - it's the 22 years on my money and your money that matters, yes by all means take his possessions and sell them - but don't expect much for unwashed pairs of trackies, dirty Reeboks and a baseball cap ot two - he won't have a house, he'll have been in local authority housing.

We all know what the solution is, and it's not even expensive..




Euthanasia - you know it makes sense.

Anonymous said...

Ok now I present at my GP with a hangover and get a prescription for methadone.

Which I then sell for the next 22 years.

Hmmmm!

Dr Evil said...

Very similar if you are an alky, except you have to buy your own booze. I think a letter to the Equality and Human Rights commission is in order! This is blatant discrimination in favour of junkies!

cornishgiant said...

I think the thing that needs to be mentioned is that drug treatment programmes do not exist to get people off of "street" drugs, but are a harm reduction measure. It's well known (if you know it!) that the Number Needed to Treat (NNT) for these prgrammes is 2. i.e. for evey 2 people who enter a programme 1 gets significant benefit.

For that reason they are a very cost effective intervention.

Quite why they are entitled to more benefits however......

Steve Antony Williams said...

Inspiring .... And here I am struggling to live on JSA and the DWP/Council won't give me any help towards my mortgage (they only "help" if it's an interest only mortgage) but would pay my rent if I was living in digs smoking crack and supping methadone. Gits.

Anyone need an eCommerce Operations manager ? :p

microdave said...

Once again decent hard working people get kicked in the bollocks. Oh, and also in the twat, - mustn't let Harridan Harmperson accuse me of discrimination....

Unknown said...

Where do I sign up for my Nicotine fix?

sixtypoundsaweekcleaner said...

I know someone in a similar situation, not that she's on drugs, far from it. She's just married to convicted paedo and it stresses her out. Because of her stress she has been on benefits for the past 10 years. Neither her or her husband are in the slightest bit inclined to get a job. She watches tv all day, mostly american soaps and he plays his nintendo. That's the sum total of their lives.

If anyone says anything, she just replies with 'Oh it's not worth me getting a job...' or 'I need someone to help me.'

It could make me bitter if I let it. They've got a bigger telly than me.

Uncle Marvo said...

Break in, nick the telly.

Simples!

Onan the Rotarian said...

So why Obo are you going to vote for the government that's keeping this whole bloody fake welfare thing going? And, no, I'm not suggesting you vote for the Tories either, just not for Liebore.

ShugNiggurath said...

This is not enough new news. I first looked at the fail rates of the methadone programme a few years ago when I seen this.

Not only a scandal, but another epic fail on the part of the devolved parliament in Scotland. Even more politically correct than Harman this lot.

The success rates in England are 25 times higher in Scotland (and that's on a larger sample to begin with).

But then it's not real money that they spend on all this nonsense is it? Just budget. It's there to be spent and would just disappear if they didn't. Asking for this money to be spent wisely or returned to the mugs who have to stump it up is a draconian and, frankly, nasty thing to do. Don't you people trust politicians or something?

Anonymous said...

If they had left him on the heroin, he would have been dead as a doornail about 20 years ago, and we would have saved ourselves all the benefit money he has had since.

I think there is an argument not for criminalising heroin, but prescribing it free for long term welfare claimants.

And we could probably grow it ourselves, right here in Britain. Ha ha, let's export the surplus to Afghanistan while we're at it. That'll put the Taliban out of business. Beat the buggers at their own game. Set a thief to catch a thief, and all that.

Anonymous said...

Typical state-conditioned drone.

Surely we're all state conditioned, are we not? Unless you're living in a shoebox playing WOW.

Jim said...

I agree with anonymous 18:67 - legalise the lot, let the addicts overdose if they want to, and forbid anyone in the NHS on pain of instant dismissal from attempting to resuscitate any overdose victims.

Let natural selection do its work.

JuliaM said...

Surely we're all state conditioned, are we not?

No.

MTG said...

You most certainly are state conditioned, JuliaM.

To be conscious of it requires a little more thought than the instant bigotry and smugness so irritatingly characteristic of your blogging style.

sound money man said...

Although there are smack heads all over the country, why is Scotland so pathological?

Even the nanny state campaigns are different north of the border.

In England, the government orders us to scoff five portions of fruit/veg a day.

In Scotland, its only two. I'm not kidding.

AKM said...

Maybe in Scotland the portions are bigger?