Tag: drug consumption rooms
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America has lost the War on Drugs. Here’s what needs to happen next
Wednesday, 22 February 2023
For a forgotten moment, at the very start of the United States’ half-century long war on drugs, public health was the weapon of choice. Before long, the funding ratio between public health and crimin ...
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Drug deaths are rising and overdose prevention centres save lives, so why is the UK unwilling to introduce them?
Monday, 19 December 2022
In late 2020, a converted van appeared in central Glasgow. Inside were clean needles, sterilising equipment, mirrors, “sharps bins” for the disposal of syringes, and supplies of the overdose reversal ...
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Scotland's drug deaths: Consumption room pilot on track despite warning over legal barriers
Wednesday, 02 February 2022
The new chair of the SNP’s drug deaths taskforce is confident legal barriers to setting up drug consumption rooms can be overcome as he insisted the facilities would not be a “free-for-all" or be a m ...
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‘We’re making harm reduction cool’: overdose reversal Narcan becomes a rave essential
Friday, 31 December 2021
Fentanyl testing strips as well as the opioid-reversal drug naloxone (commonly known as Narcan) are becoming the sine qua non of the party scene, distributed everywhere cultural denizens hang out: ni ...
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D.A. Chesa Boudin joins critics of Breed’s Tenderloin crackdown to protest plan
Monday, 20 December 2021
District Attorney Chesa Boudin joined other elected officials and activists to criticize Mayor London Breed’s plan to flood San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood with police and crack down on drug ...
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S.F. takes big step toward opening a supervised drug use site
Tuesday, 14 December 2021
San Francisco could be one step closer to opening a supervised drug use site after the Board of Supervisors approved the purchase of property for that purpose. Though supervised consumption sites are ...
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Overdose prevention centres will save lives, say UK senior doctors
Sunday, 12 December 2021
Drug addicts should be allowed to use illicit substances in “supervised injecting facilities” with medical staff on hand to ensure no one dies, health groups are urging ministers. Senior doctors, pub ...
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Supervised injection sites for drug users to open in New York City
Tuesday, 30 November 2021
In an attempt to curb a surge in overdose deaths caused by increasingly potent street drugs, New York City will authorize two supervised injection sites in Manhattan to begin operating. Trained staff ...
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Safehouse takes its battle over a Philly supervised drug injection site to the U.S. Supreme Court
Thursday, 26 August 2021
Seven months after a federal appellate court delivered a major setback to plans to open the nation’s first supervised injection site in Philadelphia, the nonprofit behind the endeavor is returning to ...
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The forgotten history of European drug-dealer activism
Friday, 30 April 2021
Today, the contributions of drug suppliers towards harm reduction efforts remain mostly neglected by history, although some within the grassroots end of the movement still emphasise their critical ro ...
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Calls backed for European-style shooting galleries where addicts can take their own heroin
Tuesday, 16 March 2021
European-style drug rooms where users can take illicit substances have been backed by a Teesside panel. Councillors have spent more than a year examining Middlesbrough’s opioid crisis - and what can ...
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A tale of two public health crises — science is being used to stem coronavirus but not opioid deaths
Saturday, 13 March 2021
As one public health emergency sees policymakers around the world turn to the best available science to stem its tide, another deadly crisis rages on while science remains noticeably absent. In Canad ...
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PHE accused of toning down positive report on drug centres
Friday, 05 March 2021
Public Health England has been accused of watering down a briefing on the life-saving merits of overdose prevention centres (OPCs) after a paper was retracted and then rereleased with a much less opt ...
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As BC’s overdose crisis deepens, Province defends efforts
Tuesday, 02 March 2021
At least 165 more British Columbians died of illicit drug overdoses in the first month of 2021, more than double the number of deaths recorded last January. An average of more than five people died e ...
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2020 was S.F.’s deadliest year for overdoses, by far
Friday, 15 January 2021
San Francisco lost a total of 699 people to overdoses last year, a 59% rise from 2019, according to new data released by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. That number is more than three times ...
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Appeals Court overturns ruling that legalized SCS; Safehouse fights on
Wednesday, 13 January 2021
A three-judge panel from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals voted to overturn a Philadelphia District Court’s prior ruling that effectively legalized safe consumption sites (SCS). In a 2-1 decision, ...
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CDC and NIDA will finally study potential of safe consumption sites
Thursday, 07 January 2021
For the first time ever, Congress has weighed in on the issue of safe consumption sites (SCS). A bill tied to the stimulus package signed into law on December 27 included a direction to the Centers f ...
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'The capital of crack' - Why can't Paris deal with its drug problem?
Thursday, 17 December 2020
For 30 years, crack has been the bane of this part of the capital, near Place Stalingrad, in the less glamorous northeast of the city. Since last year, city officials have stepped up efforts to curb ...
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Scott Wiener tries — again — to allow S.F., Oakland and L.A. to open a safe drug use site
Monday, 07 December 2020
State Sen. Scott Wiener is trying — once again — to allow San Francisco to open a safe injection site, where people can use drugs in a safe and supervised setting. It’s currently illegal to open a su ...
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How a man with a van is challenging UK drug policy
Saturday, 21 November 2020
Every Friday for the past two months, Peter Krykant has parked his white van on Parnie Street in central Glasgow and waited for people to come by and inject illegal drugs. Inside the van are two seat ...
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Crime commissioner says its "ludicrous" to chase drug addicts who need help
Friday, 06 November 2020
The man running the UK’s most progressive drug diversion scheme believes it’s “totally ludicrous” for officers to seek to arrest drug users at a mobile drugs van in Scotland. David Jamieson, crime co ...
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Overdoses are killing more people in Western Canada than COVID-19. B.C. has a bold new plan
Friday, 25 September 2020
Canada’s other epidemic, the opioids overdose crisis, is more deadly than ever this year. Deaths in British Columbia hit new highs over the spring, including a monthly record of 181 illicit drug toxi ...
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The incredible story of Zürich’s journey to harm reduction
Wednesday, 09 September 2020
It was in 1992 that the Platzspitz city park – right by Zürich train station and internationally nicknamed “Needle Park” – was cleared out by the police, who had previously tolerated drug use and sal ...
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Mobile ‘fix room’ begins operating in Glasgow
Wednesday, 02 September 2020
A drug consumption van where addicts can inject heroin has been launched in Glasgow - despite warnings it could be breaking the law. Peter Krykant, a recovering heroin addict and former drugs worker, ...
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Amid spike in opioid overdoses, momentum for reform wavers
Monday, 31 August 2020
U.S. states and cities are seeing increases in opioid-related overdose deaths A paper issued by the American Medical Association this summer found that 41 states had reported spikes in overdose death ...
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First major study by Glasgow experts finds Scottish public support drug consumption rooms
Thursday, 30 July 2020
Research from a Glasgow university has revealed that the majority of Scots back the introduction of drug consumption rooms (DCRs) – with academics insisting the idea remains an option despite UK Gove ...
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Secret US drug injection site shows how supervision could save lives
Wednesday, 08 July 2020
For five years, a secret supervised drug injection site has operated in the US, allowing drug users to inject more than 10,000 times in a sterile, protected environment. The illegal operation is mode ...
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Supervised consumption sites save Alberta money: University of Calgary study
Thursday, 25 June 2020
A study from the University of Calgary has concluded the Calgary supervised consumption site is saving the province money. The study looked at the costs of treating a person who has overdosed at the ...
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Safe injecting room trial extended in North Richmond
Friday, 05 June 2020
Victoria will keep its supervised injecting room in North Richmond open for another three years and is set to create a second facility near Queen Victoria Market, the Government has announced. The No ...
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Portugal’s answer to the heroin crisis
Wednesday, 22 April 2020
After years of mounting overdoses, HIV infections and rampant heroin addiction, Portugal opted in 2001 for a daring experiment: The country decriminalized the use of all drugs. It was an unprecedente ...
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A shortage of illicit drugs is imminent due to the coronavirus lockdown
Tuesday, 24 March 2020
We’ve already witnessed the havoc of coronavirus as panic-buying compromises supply and distribution of food and some medicines. The illicit drug market is not immune to coronavirus either. We are a ...
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Safe injection sites: Coronavirus underlines why they make sense
Tuesday, 17 March 2020
As cases of COVID-19 infections and fatalities begin to surge, an aggressive testing campaign is finally getting underway across the nation. Americans are urged to practice “social distancing,” and s ...
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Landmark NSW inquiry condemns ineffective drug laws and calls for decriminalisation
Thursday, 27 February 2020
A New South Wales government-commissioned special inquiry into drug use has slammed the criminalisation of drug users as a “profound flaw” in the state’s criminal justice system and recommended the c ...
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Philadelphia nonprofit opening nation's first supervised injection site next week
Wednesday, 26 February 2020
After a two-year battle, the Philadelphia nonprofit Safehouse says next week it will open the first space in the U.S. where people struggling with addiction can use opioids and other illegal drugs un ...
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What can be done about Scotland's drugs crisis?
Wednesday, 26 February 2020
Scotland has the highest rate of drug-related deaths in Europe and the numbers are continuing to rise at an alarming speed. Both the Scottish government and the UK government are holding summits in G ...
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Deputy Mayor wants pilot for safe consumption room in new drug strategy
Monday, 27 January 2020
In Bristol, there were 49 drug related deaths in 2017/18 – the highest ever recorded. There are almost 5,000 heroin and crack users in the city and, despite Bristol’s well-regarded treatment services ...
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Why overdose deaths have fallen here - despite more overdose
Tuesday, 14 January 2020
Roughly 66 times every single day in British Columbia, someone calls 911 for a suspected drug overdose. And 66 times every day, an operator answers one of those calls, assesses the situation, and dis ...
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Tainted drugs are fuelling Thunder Bay's opioid deaths, say advocates. They want a safe supply to fight it
Wednesday, 08 January 2020
Inside the only supervised injection site in Thunder Bay, Ont., nurse practitioner Josh Fraser has reversed so many opioid overdoses that he says the lives saved are "too many to count." "It's not ab ...
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Philly’s supervised injection site backers say they won’t delay opening while Justice Dept. appeals
Tuesday, 07 January 2020
The Philadelphia nonprofit hoping to operate the nation’s first supervised injection site it would not let an expected appeal by the Justice Department — or threats from the U.S. attorney in the city ...
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Canada’s opioid crisis: The people and communities fighting for change and finding solutions
Monday, 23 December 2019
The drug crisis has claimed thousands of lives in Canada, with no communities spared. Now, many are banding together to speak up and find solutions. This is a glimpse at the efforts of everyone from ...
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Medical grade heroin drug treatment centre to open in Glasgow
Tuesday, 26 November 2019
A new service providing medical grade heroin to the most problematic drug users in Glasgow is ready to open. The Enhanced Drug Treatment Service will treat the most at risk heroin users who are in da ...
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SNP formally backs decriminalisation of drugs
Sunday, 13 October 2019
The SNP has backed decriminalising the possession and consumption of drugs. At its conference in Aberdeen, a resolution was unanimously passed by delegates branding current drug control legislation " ...
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Paritätische Bremen fordert Cannabis-Legalisierung
Monday, 07 October 2019
Der Paritätische Bremen fordert eine Neuausrichtung der Drogen- und Suchtpolitik in Bremen. Der Spitzenverband der Wohlfahrtspflege will, dass legaler Konsum und kontrollierter Verkauf von Cannabis m ...
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Judge rules planned supervised injection site does not violate federal drug laws
Wednesday, 02 October 2019
A judge has ruled that a Philadelphia nonprofit group's plan to open the first supervised injection site in the U.S. where people can use illegal opioids under medical supervision does not violate fe ...
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Canada’s drug crisis has a solution. Politicians don’t like it
Sunday, 29 September 2019
A recent study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Addiction, found that a trio of policies adopted to combat the opioid overdose epidemic saved, combined, an estimated 3,030 lives in the Canadia ...
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Fate of Philly safe consumption site now hinges on judge’s ruling
Friday, 06 September 2019
Nearly two years after Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said his office would not stand in the way of a safe consumption site (SCS) to help cut the city’s record overdose levels, the fate of Safehouse, ...
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France is testing safe drug consumption rooms for opioid addicts
Wednesday, 31 July 2019
Paris’s supervised consumption room, close to the Gare du Nord train station, is preventing potential fatalities and delivering much-needed health care. In the first year, the team provided more than ...
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When harm reduction expansion stifles activism: A lesson from Europe
Tuesday, 23 July 2019
Western European harm reduction presents an interesting paradox. On the one hand, the widespread availability of effective harm reduction programs is laudable. Drug-related disease rates are low. Ove ...
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Drugs expert barred from policy panel after criticising Home Office
Tuesday, 11 June 2019
A government minister vetoed the appointment of an expert to a public body after vetting found she had criticised the Home Office and called for drug policy reform. Documents released under a subject ...
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California bill to create ‘safe injection sites’ in San Francisco clears Assembly
Thursday, 23 May 2019
A bill that would allow San Francisco city officials to open facilities where people can inject drugs without legal consequences cleared the state Assembly. Assembly Bill 362 by Assemblywoman Susan E ...
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