Photo: John Moore/Getty Images
For: The opinion Posted Jan 16, 2023, 20:50 pm EST
For the second time in a month, a Colorado library closed its doors to clean up methamphetamine contamination.
Just last week, officials in the Denver suburb of Englewood closed the city library a couple of hours after receiving test results Wednesday that showed contamination in the facility’s restrooms exceeded state thresholds, the government said. City spokesman Chris Harguth.
Other spaces, such as bathrooms, have also tested positive for lower levels of the drug and will require specialized cleaning, said. Larger-scale work will include removal of contaminated surfaces, walls, ductwork, and exhaust ventilation equipment.
These facts relive the time when a series of library overdoses were reported in the mid-2010s as the opioid crisis grew in the United States, some libraries were stocked with the antidote Naloxone, known by the brand name Narcan. .
So far, it appears that library closures triggered by methamphetamine contamination are limited to Colorado, sAccording to spokesman Raymond Garcia of the American Library Association, who is not aware of it occurring elsewhere in the country in recent years. The group declined to comment on whether drug use has increased in libraries, citing a lack of up-to-date data.
Health officials say methamphetamine residues can be irritating, causing symptoms such as a scratchy throat, runny nose, and runny eyes. But secondary exposure is not thought to cause long-term chronic health problems, Harguth said.
Drug use is not common at the Englewood library, but reports have increased in recent months as colder weather prompted more people to seek refuge there, with only a small number using them, the agency said. Library Director Christina Underhill.
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