To think this scumbag "mother" should have her child taken from her?

[HungryHelga]

Woman licks methadone from the pavement in Scotland as her child looks on.

This disgusts me. How can anyone have so little self-respect to do this, and with her child there as well?

I am not trying to sound compassionate, I am trying to sound like a realist.

Your story about India puts this into perspective for me a bit Quint. It makes me feel even angrier.

I'd take away all children from birth to one year or so, from known addicts, and have them adopted immediately. And they would not be allowed to keep baby until they have proven themselves to be drug free for at least 3, or maybe even 5 years. In the case of older children, I agree it is easier/cheaper to at least try to keep the family together with treatment and support, but only because it's the least worst choice - better than languishing in care when you are too old/damaged for a decent chance of adoption. My compassion in these circumstances lies firmly with the children. Early and swift intervention is the only way to guarantee their lives won't be totally fucked up. Otherwise we just keep going round and round in circles for ever more, and wringing our hands about how awful it is.

As a very young child I watched a parent shoot up as I walked in. I would much rather I had seen them lick methadone from the pavement as I now have a phobia with needles going anywhere near my inner arms.

Norman that story about the toddler and baby is so so sad :( I have a 2 year old and the idea of that breaks my heart.

Someone mentioned addicts having kids, personal responsibility etc. I think we can safely conclude that the parents were not in a decent frame of mind and didn't decide to ttc in the manner of those frequenting the MN conception boards.

My mum was an alcoholic - ended up on the streets. She was not right mentally (she even had two kids while still addicted). I feel for the childrenof addicts, I really do. We were taken into care and hand on heart, was the best thing that happened to me.

Even if it's true - which I'd question - what have we learnt?

That heroin is desperately addictive.

That it isn't good for children to have an addicted parent.

That the woman probably knows this, and has started a programme to come off heroin, and this is her prescried alternative. If she loses it, the alternative is - well, heroin. She wants to avoid this.

What a scumbag, eh?

Hilly... I expect you think you're a fantastic parent, don't you? Your perceived superiority just radiates from your posts. Eugh.

Compos Hat, have you been watching Stewart Lee by any chance

Methadone can be given to take away.

And, if the bottle gets dropped, even if pharmacy staff see it smash, they will not give another dose - its a controlled drug, the only way to get a replacement dose would be to get another prescription which is unlikely to be done the same day as it in many areas it has to be prescribed by a specialist rather than a GP. Its tough shit if you drop/spill/lose your script.

I'd say licking it off the pavement was preferable to going without and buying smack instead, wouldn't you?

You would have all the young children of heroin addicts adopted would you Hilly?

Why not look to see if anyone of the addicts extended family would take the child in first?
Surely a much better option.

and where is the compassion for the child?

The idea that someone would take pictures like this and think to send them to the press is horrible, and quite why anyone would think to do that is beyond me.

Clearly this woman is in a bad place and deserves some sympathy. However...

I think it is possible to sympathise with her for what she is going through while at the same time thinking that this is not an ideal environment for a child.

The mother is an addict and that is sad. But she is an addict because of choices she made. No-one holds a gun to your head and makes you do drugs. She chose to take drugs, she may not have chosen to become addicted but she chose to use addictive substances.

Her child did not choose any of this. She did not choose to be born to a mother who was already addicted or who later became addicted. She did not choose to have to accompany her mother to get her fix. How many people do you know who say "My mother was a heroin addict growing up and I had a fantastic childhood," I know people whose parents were drug addicts and they all had horrible childhoods, many grow up to be addicts themselves.

And for those who will no doubt say that "do you think that punishing the mother by taking away her child will help?" a child is not a prize to be won. A child is a privilage not a right, and the child should not have to pay the price for having an addicted mother just because some people think the mother's best interests would be best served by allowing her to keep her child, regardless of her state of addiction.

So yes, I sympathise with the mother. But I sympathise with the child more.

Really - it can be given to take away. One of our friends is on a reduction programme and he has been to visit us with a week's worth with him.

Hilly so what would happen to all these children while they wait for their parents to overcome their addictions and prove themselves no longer addicted?

Can't imagine my sister and I would have flourished in the time it took our mum to overcome her alcohol addiction and then another 5 years to make absolutely sure she was no longer addicted.

Not forgetting that any addict can potentially fall off the wagon at any time. So then what would happen? You've put these children back with their parents after say, 5 years since they gave up, and then take them away again coz mummy/daddy caved in and did another hit/got totally wasted? Yeah that wouldn't be damaging...

'Scumbag': check
'"Mother"' in quotation marks: check
'children taken away': check

...and hide the thread.

Didn't know where to start gainsborough but you've summed it up perfectly!

I feel really sad for everyone involved in that picture. Just... really sad.

Addiction is a way of life in some parts of Scotland

What you see there is children witnessesibg extreme behaviour of a parent. One may decide never to touch drugs because of mum''s experiences. The other may decide to take heroin for comfort, distraction, fun and reason that 'everyone does it'

I just think we as a society could handle this better, but it isn't a vote winner. Drug dealing finances so many other malign aspects of society -trafficking of children, prostitution, arms etc

I'f rather that woman was licking methadone off the floor in front of her child than taking heroine and overdosing and her poor child finding her dead. She's trying to get clean and from what i understand of its its damn hard to get off this particular drug

That photo is so sad, to see a human being that desperate.
If she spilt her meth on the floor, she wouldnot get another dose that day.

It's issued in daily amounts that can be taken off premises.

I'd be more concerned about how a child could cost £4.500 a week to be looked after in social care...that's a ridiculously high amount of money to support a child in any environment.

If that figure's correct the councils/govt bodies need auditing.

I have sympathy for the pavement licker she must be having a shit time trying to come off these drugs and publicity like this wont help her.

Not being a drug user myself I don't understand how someone gets hooked on hard drugs but maybe that's the reason why i'm not qualified to over-exert my opinion on it.......anyone stooping (Scuse the pun) to those lengths to get a fix must be helped in every way possible.

I agree with wannabe, there has been lots of "wheres your compassion, shes trying" posts here but very few thinking about the effect on the child here. Regardless of whether this child is the womans or not she is a witness to something very disturbing (if the story is real of course).

Child are at risk growing up in a household where a carer is an addict, and not just physically but mentally to. I work with adults who have had difficult childhoods for reasons including this and the effects are still with them causing them their own mental health problems as adults.

Children dont have a choice in these situations but adults do. And one of those choices is not to take drugs. But of course lots of people do.

Oh dear - The Daily Ibrox Record strikes again.

OP - this 'news'paper is for Scotland's lowest common denominators. It has a reading age of 7, and specialises in just the sort of sensation seeking tripe you linked to.

Well done.

scrooge guilty as charged!

Addiction is a way of life in some parts of Scotland

And indeed...England, Ireland and Wales. And everywhere else too.

Of course it's about the child but that doesn't mean that being with it's mother isn't the best thing subject to her getting cleaned up and receiving help to stay off the stuff. She's demonstrated commitment to getting over her addiction, no?

Truly, I think that any child, if at all possible, should stay with a parent who loves it and will care for it (even if help is needed). I'd actually hate thinking of a child being parked with some of the smug, judgemental human beings on this thread, how could the child help but be tarnished and grow up the same?