opinion of safe injection sites

[dead0man]

Philly might be opening one soon, that is if the Feds allow them to.

[Horus]

I have a hard time supporting safe injection sites in states that don't even have a safe place to smoke marijuana.

[Sestak]

Not really sure, but I'm hopeful that they can prove to be helpful.

I will say, though, that "safe injection sites will increase drug use and crime" is on the same level as the "sex ed will cause teens to have more sex" argument for me.

[Sirius_]

I'm not sure how much research there is so far, but it would seem to me that having a place where people can go, without fear, to receive assistance in transitioning off drugs safely would be beneficial to the public health. Certainly more helpful than locking them up.

[Sestak]

They're immoral! Instead of providing a "safe" place to do drugs why don't those people help end drug addictions?

Uh... that’s the point. The idea is it’s easier to:

1. Prevent unsafe usage in the short term that could lead to overdosing etc.

2. Provide a safe, supervised way to wean an addict off of the drug (the supervised part is otherwise pretty hard if the drug isn’t legal).

[darklordoftech]

Freedom places, although it's interesting that they're supported by the same people who removed cigarette ashtrays from everywhere (resulting in litter).

[Mr. Reactionary]

Are vendors allowed in?

[Kleine Scheiße]

They're immoral! Instead of providing a "safe" place to do drugs why don't those people help end drug addictions?

Uh... that’s the point. The idea is it’s easier to:

1. Prevent unsafe usage in the short term that could lead to overdosing etc.

2. Provide a safe, supervised way to wean an addict off of the drug (the supervised part is otherwise pretty hard if the drug isn’t legal).

That idea may be on paper but in practice this will likely encourage more people to do drugs.

The evidence from actual safe injection sites in Europe and Canada does not show that.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

They're immoral! Instead of providing a "safe" place to do drugs why don't those people help end drug addictions?

Uh... that’s the point. The idea is it’s easier to:

1. Prevent unsafe usage in the short term that could lead to overdosing etc.

2. Provide a safe, supervised way to wean an addict off of the drug (the supervised part is otherwise pretty hard if the drug isn’t legal).

That idea may be on paper but in practice this will likely encourage more people to do drugs.

The evidence from actual safe injection sites in Europe and Canada does not show that.

Canada and the EU are not the United States. Where is the evidence?

Maybe you should provide your source since you claimed it may be working on paper, but  will likely encourage more people to do drugs.

[Kleine Scheiße]

They're immoral! Instead of providing a "safe" place to do drugs why don't those people help end drug addictions?

Uh... that’s the point. The idea is it’s easier to:

1. Prevent unsafe usage in the short term that could lead to overdosing etc.

2. Provide a safe, supervised way to wean an addict off of the drug (the supervised part is otherwise pretty hard if the drug isn’t legal).

That idea may be on paper but in practice this will likely encourage more people to do drugs.

The evidence from actual safe injection sites in Europe and Canada does not show that.

Canada and the EU are not the United States. Where is the evidence?

There are no safe injection sites currently legally operating in the United States.

http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/attachements.cfm/att_2944_EN_consumption_rooms_report.pdf

In 2001, only 15% of clients were under 25 years of age. In Spain, between 42% and 60% of clients are homeless. These are not people that are newly exposed to drugs by these facilities.

[Sestak]

They're immoral! Instead of providing a "safe" place to do drugs why don't those people help end drug addictions?

Uh... that’s the point. The idea is it’s easier to:

1. Prevent unsafe usage in the short term that could lead to overdosing etc.

2. Provide a safe, supervised way to wean an addict off of the drug (the supervised part is otherwise pretty hard if the drug isn’t legal).

That idea may be on paper but in practice this will likely encourage more people to do drugs.

The evidence from actual safe injection sites in Europe and Canada does not show that.

Canada and the EU are not the United States. Where is the evidence?

Where is your evidence that suggest the results will be different in the United States?

And if your answer is “we can’t be sure” that it’ll work the same way in the US, my answer is - since we know it does work in other countries - why not try it in order to see if it works here too?

[dead0man]

They're immoral! Instead of providing a "safe" place to do drugs why don't those people help end drug addictions?

Uh... that’s the point. The idea is it’s easier to:

1. Prevent unsafe usage in the short term that could lead to overdosing etc.

2. Provide a safe, supervised way to wean an addict off of the drug (the supervised part is otherwise pretty hard if the drug isn’t legal).

That idea may be on paper but in practice this will likely encourage more people to do drugs.

The evidence from actual safe injection sites in Europe and Canada does not show that.

Canada and the EU are not the United States. Where is the evidence?

There are ways Americans are different than Canadians or Euros, but I'm not seeing how they would be at play here.

That part doesn't matter though, there is no evidence here one way or the other.  There is evidence in other places that it's better for the addicts, friends and family of the addicts and most importantly, society at large to try.  I totally understand being skeptical, I totally don't understand not wanting to try.

[Co-Chair Bagel23]

I support them.

[TPIG]

I'm certainly skeptical of them and agree that they could have some adverse consequences, but I'm not opposed to experimenting with these, in a controlled way, to see if they're more effective than current practices.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I’m all in favor of them. I know someone who got Hep C from needles.

[An American Tail: Fubart Goes West]

Necessary evil, I’d say. We don’t live in a perfect world, but having these sites can make things not as bad.

[S019]

I don't think it's a good idea to give people a place to use drugs, that will not stop their addiction, strictly enforcing bans on these substances, is the only way that the addiction can be avoided, curing it requires a lengthy process, and letting people just indulge in their addiction, will make things worse

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

I don't think it's a good idea to give people a place to use drugs, that will not stop their addiction, strictly enforcing bans on these substances, is the only way that the addiction can be avoided, curing it requires a lengthy process, and letting people just indulge in their addiction, will make things worse

Is the comma the only punctuation you know of?

[Hammy]

They're immoral! Instead of providing a "safe" place to do drugs why don't those people help end drug addictions?

Uh... that’s the point. The idea is it’s easier to:

1. Prevent unsafe usage in the short term that could lead to overdosing etc.

2. Provide a safe, supervised way to wean an addict off of the drug (the supervised part is otherwise pretty hard if the drug isn’t legal).

That idea may be on paper but in practice this will likely encourage more people to do drugs.

The evidence from actual safe injection sites in Europe and Canada does not show that.

Canada and the EU are not the United States. Where is the evidence?

I'm not sure what your point is here, unless you're admitting Europeans and Canadians as a whole are better than Americans?

[Some of My Best Friends Are Gay]

If people are addicted to hard drugs, we should at least ensure that they're using them safely.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

I'm strongly in favor of at least giving them a try. Harm reduction is a pro-life value.

[Ban my account ffs!]

I'm certainly skeptical of them and agree that they could have some adverse consequences, but I'm not opposed to experimenting with these, in a controlled way, to see if they're more effective than current practices.

Have you been to Kensington?  That whole place is an adverse consequence.  If ever there was a place to try it.

[DC Al Fine]

I would feel more positively about them if governments took their negative externalities more seriously. I recently moved to a neighbourhood with one nearby and now I get to partake in the delightful experience of shooing my toddler daughter away from used needles at the park.

My city is slow to dispose of them, if at all, and other Canadian cities have similar issues.

This is how NIMBY's are made.

[parochial boy]

I would feel more positively about them if governments took their negative externalities more seriously. I recently moved to a neighbourhood with one nearby and now I get to partake in the delightful experience of shooing my toddler daughter away from used needles at the park.

My city is slow to dispose of them, if at all, and other Canadian cities have similar issues.

This is how NIMBY's are made.

Zurich used to have a famous issue with this when it first introduced the safe needle areas. But since the 1990s it has been cleared up massively, and the area in the photo has gone from being a complete no-go zone to an actually quite cool alternative area to hang out by the river.

From what I know, they have fixed it mostly by moving to actually prescribing heroin for user to take in clinics; but also by little things like the fact that every public toilet now has a needle disposal bin (which makes sense seeing as public toilets are where addicts tend to shoot up). And it has totally worked because I go to that area almost every day and have never come across a single used needle.

[dead0man]

I would feel more positively about them if governments took their negative externalities more seriously. I recently moved to a neighbourhood with one nearby and now I get to partake in the delightful experience of shooing my toddler daughter away from used needles at the park.

My city is slow to dispose of them, if at all, and other Canadian cities have similar issues.

This is how NIMBY's are made.

aren't the needles supposed to stay in the "safe injection sites"?