Commentary #2

My interest was immediately piqued with your topic of safe injection sites for drug users. Being a social work student, this is a topic that my classes have explored on a few occasions. Of course, it is very controversial and it’s easy to understand why. There are so many facets to the drug use community and each person is different and has their own story. This makes it difficult to have a “one size fits all” approach when it comes to intervention and ultimately trying to help people recover from their drug addiction. We can open as many rehab centers as we like. We can make them as cost-effective (free) as possible. But at the end of the day, rehab centers only help those who are ready to make a change. There is nothing anyone else can do to help someone else reach that point. I notice that you mentioned this as well. However, you also made a comment asking whether the dangers of using on the streets should encourage people to want to get out of that situation. From my understanding, those who suffer from addiction have a battle between risk and reward. In this case, the drugs being the reward. There are multiple studies that also prove drug use, especially repeated drug use, changes the brain and brain chemistry. This can have a severe impact on prioritizing what is important and relevant and what is not. For someone who uses drugs, the reward far outweighs the risk, and in some cases, they don’t recognize the risk at all. Therefore, desire to get out this situation does not register in the same way it would for someone who is sober.

People who use drugs are also at an increased risk of contracting disease and illness. HIV and Hepatitis being two very prevalent and very preventable diseases within the community. Safe injection sites often, as you said, protect from harmful individuals on the streets. However, they also typically provide new needles and proper disposal devices. People who are addicted to drugs will often use any needle available, whether it has been used or not. This spreads disease like wildfire, as we can already assume. Additionally, because there are trained “employees” present, they can also monitor for signs of overdose and get individuals help should such a situation arise. I use quotations because many injection sites are staffed with volunteers and non-profit organizations which negates some of your concern for tax dollars going towards these facilities. If we would like these individuals to have an opportunity to go to a rehab center and recover, we need to make sure they don’t die before they have a chance.

Lastly, I agree that things like reduced education costs and feeding the hungry along with so many other problems in the world, or even just in America, have a need for attention and funds and reform. However, paying attention and aiding one cause does not mean we need to take away from another cause. We can reduce education costs AND help protect the community that uses drugs. Fix healthcare AND prevent disease outbreak among addiction sufferers. There is enough wealth in the world to fix more than one or two causes, we just need those in control of the money to care enough to apply it.

The jury is still out on long-term results of safe injection sites, but I think they are worth a shot. Short-term results are looking pretty promising.