State commission recommends piloting supervised injection sites for illicit drug users
A state commission charged with reviewing “harm reduction” initiatives used elsewhere with drug users is recommending a “pilot program of one or more supervised consumption sites” as part of state efforts “to combat the opioid crisis.”
“Supervised consumption sites are an effective harm reduction tool in the countries where they have been implemented,” states the 51-page report from the Harm Reduction Commission.
“These sites keep people who use drugs alive and help reduce the public health risks of disease transmission.”
Safe injection facilities, as the report explains, are among such sites as “spaces where people who inject drugs can inject pre-obtained substances in the presence of trained staff who provide clinical monitoring.”
The purpose of the sites, as the report notes, is to prevent drug-related fatal overdoses as well as the transmission of diseases like HIV/AIDS and hepatitis from the use of contaminated needles.
