Drugs and alcohol abuse at Pride Parade takes toll on hospitals
Ichilov Hospital's emergency room director laments pressure placed on doctors after dozens were admitted for excessive substance abuse during march; ‘A line had been crossed. They went wild.’
“After the march we were flooded with people, particularly young people, who both drank and used drugs and were totally ‘wiped,’” Professor Pini Halperin, the director of the hospital’s emergency room told Yedioth Ahronoth.
“It happens every year. We receive dozens of people affected during the march but this time (the numbers) were exceptional,” he continued. “There was a feeling of rebelliousness, that the people had gone wild. A doctor who was at the event told me about people who were sprawled on the grass—something that he wasn’t used to seeing at previous marches.”
Given the high volume of patients requiring treatment, Ichiliov Hospital requested that Magen David Adom paramedics take some of the intoxicated individuals to other hospitals.
“It felt like people had gone beyond what was acceptable,” Professor Halperin added. “I am not judging the behavior of people who want to celebrate the march, but as a doctor I have to respond the moment I recognize serious danger. This time I felt that a line was crossed and that the time has come to tell people that there is a danger in excessive use of alcohol and drugs.”
Fortunately for those worst affected, no one who was treated ended up losing their lives. “Most of the people survive because they are young and healthy,” Halperin explained. “But in past years people have died due to the combination of drugs and alcohol. Most of them don’t even know what they have taken and we are forced to treat them blindly.”
