In Pennsylvania, a gas station has installed blue lights in its bathrooms to try to deter drug use. The Sheetz Gas Station in New Kensington installed the lights this week.
Although it is not clear if any drug users have ever overdosed in their bathrooms, the local police say they find as many as two a month dead inside all gas stations generally. With the blue light, it is more difficult for people to see their veins.
The owners and staff hope it will prevent addicts from injecting opioids on the premises.
The bathrooms at Sheetz in New Kensington where staff have installed blue lights to stop drug addicts from being able to find their veins and inject
‘One of our highest priorities at Sheetz is creating a safe and secure environment for our customers and employees. The light system in the restrooms at this New Kensington store is designed to help our customers and employees avoid dangerous situations,’ a Sheetz spokesman said.
Customers said it might stop addicts from using Sheetz’ bathrooms to inject, but it would do little to stop the drugs epidemic sweeping America.
‘I don’t think it’ll work. I can understand Sheetz not wanting it to occur and if that drives them away, fine, but I don’t think it’s going to do it.
‘They’ll do drugs everyplace,’ Jan Mills Snr, an elderly customer said.
The lights are in use above the sinks in addition to the individual cubicles
The cubicle inside the bathroom is lit with the same lights
The Sheetz gas station is in New Kensington, Pennsylvania. Police there say they find two drug addicts a month who have overdosed in a gas station bathroom in the area
Over the last year, 179 people in the county have died from drug use. It fits with the larger trend of increasing opioid and heroin addiction across the country.
The president declared in October that the situation is a nationwide public health emergency.
A CNN report told how librarians were being trained to act as first responders to take over the role of paramedics when handling overdoses. They were taught how to administer the life-saving drug naxolone which reverses the effects of opioids.
If you know someone who might like this, please click “Share!”