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Bye Bye Bertha

Submitted by smorgan on
Bertha Madras has apparently left her position as deputy director for demand reduction at ONDCP, as evidenced by a missing staff bio and this article identifying her as a "former" staffer. If drug abuse suddenly skyrockets, it will prove she was really good at her job. But I don’t think that’s gonna happen.

Instead, Bertha will be remembered for saying some of the most horrible things you could ever imagine. Here she is opposing overdose prevention and arguing that drug overdoses are good for you:

Madras says the rescue programs might take away the drug user’s motivation to get into detoxification and drug treatment.

"Sometimes having an overdose, being in an emergency room, having that contact with a health care professional is enough to make a person snap into the reality of the situation and snap into having someone give them services," Madras says. [NPR]

She will be difficult to replace, I’m sure.

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