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I'm torn on this.
On the one hand it can be seen as enabling users
They say these places help getting people treatment for their addictions, the end goal getting the off drugs
Let's say the treatment aspect doesn't work at all, and nobody who goes there gets off drugs
But if all these sites did was dramatically cut down on overdose deaths would they still be a good idea?
From the Washington Post
========================================================
Officials in Seattle on Friday approved the nation’s first “safe-injection” sites for users of heroin and other illegal drugs, calling the move a drastic but necessary response to an epidemic of addiction that is claiming tens of thousands of lives each year.
The sites — which offer addicts clean needles, medical supervision and quick access to drugs that reverse the effects of an overdose — have long been popular in Europe. Now, with the U.S. death toll rising, the idea is gaining traction in a number of American cities, including Boston, New York City and Ithaca, N.Y.
While opponents say the sites promote illegal drug use, supporters say they can keep people alive and steer them toward treatment. They compare supervised injection facilities to the needle exchanges that became popular in the 1980s and 1990s as a way to stanch the spread of HIV and hepatitis C among intravenous drug users.
“These sites save lives and that is our goal in Seattle/King County,” Seattle Mayor Ed Murray (D) said in a statement.
The sites are not currently legal under federal law, according to Kelly Dineen, a professor of health law at Saint Louis University School of Law. A provision of the Controlled Substances Act makes it illegal to operate facilities where drugs are used, she said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a record 33,000 people died from opioid overdoses in 2015. Opioids now kill more people each year than car accidents. In 2015, the number of heroin deaths nationwide surpassed the number of deaths from gun homicides.
In addition to heroin, the deaths are caused by powerful prescription painkillers and fentanyl, a synthetic opiate so potent a tiny amount can kill people within minutes — leaving little time for help to arrive.
“If you want to really bend this curve of death, [safe injection sites are] going to have to be part of the strategy,” said Jessie Gaeta, chief medical officer of the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, which treats many victims of overdose......................
https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...3c4b4fb5a63_story.html?utm_term=.57056049dafb
On the one hand it can be seen as enabling users
They say these places help getting people treatment for their addictions, the end goal getting the off drugs
Let's say the treatment aspect doesn't work at all, and nobody who goes there gets off drugs
But if all these sites did was dramatically cut down on overdose deaths would they still be a good idea?
From the Washington Post
========================================================
Officials in Seattle on Friday approved the nation’s first “safe-injection” sites for users of heroin and other illegal drugs, calling the move a drastic but necessary response to an epidemic of addiction that is claiming tens of thousands of lives each year.
The sites — which offer addicts clean needles, medical supervision and quick access to drugs that reverse the effects of an overdose — have long been popular in Europe. Now, with the U.S. death toll rising, the idea is gaining traction in a number of American cities, including Boston, New York City and Ithaca, N.Y.
While opponents say the sites promote illegal drug use, supporters say they can keep people alive and steer them toward treatment. They compare supervised injection facilities to the needle exchanges that became popular in the 1980s and 1990s as a way to stanch the spread of HIV and hepatitis C among intravenous drug users.
“These sites save lives and that is our goal in Seattle/King County,” Seattle Mayor Ed Murray (D) said in a statement.
The sites are not currently legal under federal law, according to Kelly Dineen, a professor of health law at Saint Louis University School of Law. A provision of the Controlled Substances Act makes it illegal to operate facilities where drugs are used, she said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a record 33,000 people died from opioid overdoses in 2015. Opioids now kill more people each year than car accidents. In 2015, the number of heroin deaths nationwide surpassed the number of deaths from gun homicides.
In addition to heroin, the deaths are caused by powerful prescription painkillers and fentanyl, a synthetic opiate so potent a tiny amount can kill people within minutes — leaving little time for help to arrive.
“If you want to really bend this curve of death, [safe injection sites are] going to have to be part of the strategy,” said Jessie Gaeta, chief medical officer of the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, which treats many victims of overdose......................
https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...3c4b4fb5a63_story.html?utm_term=.57056049dafb