Are ‘Supervised Injection Sites’ for Drug Users a Good Idea?
published on February 13, 2018 by Shawn Radcliffe in healthline
Philadelphia, San Francisco, and other U.S. cities are considering opening sites where people addicted to drugs can inject with clean needles under supervision.
This is part of the city’s effort to curb the rise in drug overdose deaths.
Last year, more than 1,200 people in the city died due to drug overdose, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer — a jump from the previous year and the highest rate for any city in the nation.
Opioids were involved in more than 8 out of 10 overdoses in Philadelphia.
The supervised injection sites would provide a location for people with a drug addiction to inject drugs under supervision. It would also give them access to sterile injection equipment and the anti-overdose medication naloxone.
Sites would also refer people to treatment centers, social services clinics, and other health facilities.
These are also known as “safe injection sites,” although some public health officials avoid using the term “safe” because they say illicit drug use is dangerous no matter where you do it.