Two safe consumption sites opened in New York City on November 30 in Manhattan. Since then, 59 overdoses have been reversed by medical professionals and the facilities have been used over 2,000 times. That’s 59 lives saved. 59 less people to add to the overdose statistic, which reached over 100,000 deaths between April 2020 and April 2021. The city alone saw over 2,000 overdose deaths.
As his term comes to an end, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, D, has pushed for safe consumption sites. Now, they are proving vital to the community in such a short time. Incoming Mayor Eric Adams, D, supports safe consumption sites and could potentially push for more.
Research
There are over 100 safe consumption sites around the world. Research shows these locations have saved countless lives and continue to do so. Not only do these locations have trained medical staff on site 24/7, they also offer basic human necessities: kindness, food, and a clean shower.
By creating a relationship between staff and individuals, more have shown to move towards substance use disorder treatments with referrals to healthcare and other social services. Additionally, no overdose deaths have occurred in any safe consumption sites. Staff react quickly to an overdose and administer an anti-opioid drug, Naloxone, to counter the overdose.
Safe consumption sites also decrease the amount of public drug use, syringe litter, and drug-related crimes in surrounding neighborhoods. They also function as a safe haven for violence victims who use drugs, especially women. They experience violence associated with street-based substance use.
White House
However, there are concerns when it comes to safe consumption sites. Previous presidential administrations have challenged and shut down operations. Former President Trump shut down Safehouse, a safe consumption site planning to open in Philadelphia. The organization challenged the U.S. Supreme Court, but the court declined to take up the case.
President Biden has remained quiet regarding safe consumption sites. His appointed leader of Health and Human Services (HHS) spoke about not pursuing the shut down of safe consumption sites. However, statements were retracted to say the President doesn’t have an opinion at this time.
Future
Other states and cities have been considering safe consumption sites. California will take up a safe consumption site legalization bill during the 2022 legislative session. The same goes for Massachusetts. Rhode Island took a step forward by becoming the first state to legalize safe consumption sites, with plans to open a few in 2022.
Experts and advocates suspect that more states could adopt safe consumption sites with the positive results already showing in New York City. This could become a new way to combat the continued opioid epidemic in the U.S. As more information becomes available, we will update you with the latest.
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