The Opioid Crisis Part 2 - From a Deliveroo Near You?

Modern Cities are complex places. As night draws in, the surface sheen from the steel and glass in Leeds City Centre creates a confident if isolating image of success. But take a moment longer and look a little harder, and a different picture emerges. Now - you see the young man on his bike, face covered by black balaclava, busting a gut to cut through the traffic with a Deliveroo pack on his back. And there, a group of youths chatting on the corner while puffing on their Vapes.

So common, so simple, so what?

Well, maybe the pizza delivery for the team working late on the 11th floor of contains more than meets your eye , and the awkward Square Bag on the dispatch riders back carries more cocaine than fries. And maybe the Blackcurrant and Mango smell of the vapes being used by a group of teenagers, also hides substances designed to numb the pain of everyday living. Fentanyl and other roads to oblivion are now so widely consumed in liquid Vape form, that in Leeds schools some kids can't even make it through a lesson, without having to have a top up on their vaping device.

And of course all these habits have to be paid for somehow!

As a career starter, a Deliveroo rider gig, though not so well paid, does offer a self-employed licence to go anywhere, picking up and dropping off anything at will. No one is tracking any of this right now. I am of course not suggesting that all Deliveroo riders are running drugs. What I am saying is that it is common knowledge on the streets of Leeds, that getting a ubiquitous Deliveroo outfit - plus bag, plus bike, presents significant opportunity for the entrepreneurial!

I'm not sure what should worry us more - that this is happening under our noses, or that we all seem to be so relaxed about it. Perhaps you are one of those who think that opioids becoming part of daily life in your city, is just the new norm, and won't effect those of us living in our comfortable middle class bubbles?

However, I sense that unless we change then things may unravel far more quickly than any imagine - Bankruptcy is happening in the City of Birmingham. and real cuts lie in store for #localgovernment across the UK following the recent #budget2024, which according to Paul Johnson Director at the Institute of Fiscal Studies will “mean some 'eye-wateringly' tough choices."

Where does that take us?

We can see what has happened in once prosperous cities like San Francisco , which for the last decade has been a city in decline. The homeless line the streets and cuts to policing levels have gone deep. It's so bad that 80% of cars routinely 'jump the lights' in the city, confident of not getting a ticket, because there's not enough traffic cops to enforce the law.

It should remind us that the threads that have held civilised society together have always been slight, and rely far more on consensus and co-operation than law and order to work well? But if those rules are no longer seen to apply, what then?

Back then to what's inside that Deliveroo Delivery Box!!

Synthetic Opioids are the new thing. THE replacement for heroin which has been in short supply since the Taliban shut down the growers in Afghanistan. These synthetic drugs are like most other things, made in China! and 100 times more powerful than their natural poppy seed counterparts. Not only does this kill more people through overdose, but it puts users - completely out of action, unable to function in any way!

And lets be honest the police can't cope.

Yes you do occasionally see them inside their patrol cars driving around mostly silent streets. But people are staying in - waiting for their 'home-delivery' . With resource cuts happening to every aspect of civic life, this Opioid wildfire is going to blaze across our cities. It's more than a lot to grapple with! But grapple we must. Because our decisions are shaping the way this world operates.

Of course our Deliveroo delivery boys are only one small part of the chain - but perhaps business leaders could do worse than give more thought to the way these lads are employed - focus on individual #dignity of each Deliveroo rider (or their equivalent), and make them feel like they are valued (and not just used) - meet them - train them - pay them decently - give them a career. These young lads are everywhere, and yet they are invisible!

If the economy continues on a path to becoming a free for all, with its de-investment in civic society - producing only sharply divided winners and losers, will any of us be safe - regardless of which side of the line we are on?

Did anybody say Just Eat Takeaway.com ?

Do please think about what's happening on your streets when you make your home delivery order on Friday night!!

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