Gloucester chief replies to drug initiative critics

[unhappycamper]

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_coverage/2016/03/gloucester_chief_replies_to_drug_initiative_critics



Gloucester police Chief Leonard Campanello.

Gloucester chief replies to drug initiative critics
Lindsay Kalter Saturday, March 26, 2016

Gloucester Police Chief Leonard Campanello defended the so-called ANGEL Initiative after the Essex District Attorney’s office said a near-fatal overdose of a recent patient highlighted the drug diversion program’s shortcomings.

A Gloucester woman arrested for shoplifting, who had already been enrolled in treatment through the initiative, but dropped out, was granted readmission before running away and overdosing — prompting criticism from both the judge involved in her case and a spokeswoman for Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett.

“The statements that have been made were pretty irresponsible by many people,” Campanello said. “It’s a brand-new program still. It’s not perfect in and of itself, because it deals directly with an unpredictable and desperate disease that comes with its own agenda.”

The criticisms, he said, further stigmatize addiction.