NCJ Number
185724
Journal
Drug and Alcohol Review Volume: 19 Issue: 3 Dated: September 2000 Pages: 337-346
Date Published
September 2000
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This paper describes supervised centers for injecting drugs as a harm-reduction strategy in the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Germany; reviews literature on the use of these facilities for the legal consumption of illicit drugs; and summarizes events within three Australian jurisdictions that plan to try the use of these facilities.
Abstract
Governments in Europe have established 45 of these centers as a pragmatic harm-reduction strategy for highly concentrated open drug scenes that were characterized by deteriorating health conditions for the drug users who frequented them and by increasing public nuisances associated with highly visible street-based drug purchase and use. Available evaluation studies suggest some benefits with respect to reduced public nuisance, improved access and uptake of health and other welfare services, reduced risk of drug overdoses, and reduced risk of blood-borne virus transmissions. Recent Australian interest in supervised injecting centers as a potentially beneficial harm-reduction strategy has resulted from the increasing public visibility of street-based heroin markets and the related health and other harms for both market participants and broader community. New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory will pilot one facility; both have the necessary legislation in place. Victoria proposes to pilot up to five facilities in Melbourne if legislation is enacted. Findings from the European experience suggest the need to be realistic about what these experiments can achieve; their success or failure may be ambiguous even with well-planned evaluation research. Finally, this experiment represents only one new intervention within a much broader existing harm-reduction framework. 61 references