Injecting drugs, under a watchful eye

90 supervised injection sites exist around the world
The New York Times (US)
Wednesday, January 18, 2017

It has been nearly 30 years since the first needle exchange program opened in the United States. America has another epidemic now: overdose deaths from opioids, heroin and fentanyl. A thousand people died of overdose in the city last year — three times the number who were killed in homicides. Nationally, drug overdose has passed firearms and car accidents as the leading cause of injury deaths. Yet there is a potent weapon that we’re ignoring: the supervised injection room. According to a report by the London-based group Harm Reduction International, 90 supervised injection sites exist around the world.