It might sound bizarrely simple, but it would appear that a simple change of color might be all it takes for store owners to keep away drug abusers from their public bathrooms. Drug users will sometimes use store bathroom stalls in order to inject drugs, which causes many problems and potential liabilities for store owners. People who inject drugs into their veins must first find a vein, the most reliable and safe way to get drugs into one’s system before the perceived suffering of opioid or heroin detox or withdrawal. But under a blue light, veins are practically invisible. That turns precision needle injections into a herculean task.
Early testing and research shows promising results, though there’s no research either way about its efficacy. There are also safety concerns, as determined addicts might still make attempts to inject, and may fail and cause injury as a result.
Colored bulbs cast an eerie blue glow in the restroom of a convenience store where people who inject heroin and other drugs have been seeking the relative privacy of the stalls to shoot up.
The blue lights are meant to discourage people from using drugs in store bathrooms by making it more difficult for them to see their veins. It’s an idea that’s been around for years but is getting a fresh look as a result of the nation’s opioid epidemic.
“The hardest-core opiate user still wants to be accurate. They want to make sure the needle goes in the right spot,” said Read Hayes, a University of Florida researcher and director of the Loss Prevention Research Council, a retail industry-supported group that is looking at the lights’ effectiveness. The purpose of the blue light is to “disrupt that process” and force people to go somewhere else to take drugs, he said. Continue Reading at 13 News Now
