Something To Consider: First North American Injection Site

Mark Follman of Salon.com reports on an innovative new way to combat the war on drugs. Vancouver has opened the first injection site so heroin and cocaine users can shoot up in a safe environment. Users are provided with clean works, a private stall for injecting, a rest area, and medical advice and referral services. The program is funded by the Canadian government and is up for review on whether the legal status for the program should be continued. While the Canadian government funded the site in order to study the correlations to drug crime and urban blight, it would be of interest to HIV/AIDS health providers, researchers, and advocates in the United States to examine whether such a program would work in the United States. The question to ask is whether legally allowing open drug-use in health facilities is more effective than a harm reduction model where safe drug-use is promoted less overtly such as a needle exchange program. The message we would be sending clients would be much different. It would say, "Come in and use here and then we can talk," instead of "If you are going to use, please use these clean needles." Still, if studies show that legal injection safe sites are more effective, I would be the first to support such a program. Something to consider.