Writer: Fawzan Aslam
The war on drugs and other illicit substances are regarded by Richard Nixon as, “public enemy number one” (1971). The war on drugs has damaged communities with the use of illicit substances and abuse of different medications and prescriptions. For example, the opioid epidemic has resulted in more than 760,000 deaths because of overdoses (HHS.gov). Many people have died due to accidental overdose as a result of drug misuse. Different approaches have been taken to fight the war on drugs, but Safe-Injection-Sites (SIS) are the best way to reduce substance abuse. SIS’s are sterile areas that people can use to inject and consume substances with clean needles and medical staff with them. These safe spaces are an appropriate take on the war on drugs and reducing overall drug overdose and abuse because they don’t raise crime, offer life-saving medical services, reduce illegal drug spending in a black market, provide clean and sterile equipment to reduce disease transmission, and present options for detoxification and treatment facilities for drug addiction.
Safe-Drug-Injection sites are an appropriate take against drug addiction because they don’t impact felony rates in the local area. They don’t raise crime rates as many opponents claim. Instead, these sites don’t influence an area in terms of crime rates at all. According to a study in Vancouver given to the Minister of Health of Canada, Tony Clement, an active SIS called INSITE did not see any rise of any crime in the area surrounding the site. “There was no evidence of increases in drug-related loitering, drug dealing or petty crime in areas around INSITE” (Clement). The reason there is a decrease in crime is because SIS’s discourage illegal drug activity by offering drugs to people and a healthy setting for them to take it. Therefore, SIS’s have a safe presence and don’t pose a threat to the surrounding community. There was no increase in drug-related crime because of Safe-Reinjection sites.
Moreover, SIS’s are a way for people to get the medical services and clean sterile equipment they need in case of an overdose or other life-threatening situation due to drug misuse. There are thousands of opioid overdoses every year in the United States that result in numerous deaths alongside millions of drug users following those numbers. According to an infographic posted by the Department of Health and Health Service (HHS), nearly 70,630 people have died from a drug overdose in 2019, coupled with 10.1 million opioid users, 745,000 heroin users, and 2 million methamphetamine users. This informs us of the large amounts of overdoses as well as multiple users that need to be cared for. Safe-Drug-Injection sites provide medical staff that assist immediately in case of an overdose. An original drug abuser who used an SIS for drug consumption, Guy Felechela, stated on an NBC News broadcast, “A nurse that through her interventions brought me back to life.” The medical facilities at the site saved someone from a potentially fatal overdose. This quick action taken by medical officers on the site proves that SIS’s are working, since they offer immediate medical services to an overdose and prevent further drug deaths, thus decreasing overall drug fatalities and deadly overdoses.
Additionally, SIS’s also provide sterile equipment for drug users to use when ingesting drugs. Many drug abusers equip themselves with old or used needles and reusing needles or other devices can lead to multiple health complications[HL2] . As stated in an article by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, reusing a needle puts you at risk of getting different bloodborne viruses such as “contracting Hepatitis C, Hepatitis B, and possibly HIV” (Center for Disease Control and Prevention). Drug users in an SIS can now gain clean facilities and equipment. A study in Vancouver has shown that there was a drop of shared syringes, and SIS’s reduce overall HIV transmission, “to be 70% less likely to used shared syringes, and modeling studies have estimated that SCSs reduce HIV transmission” (Ministry of Health). Clean needles result in a safer environment and less risk for bloodborne diseases to spread. This allows for a healthier environment for drug users because of these sites.
Also, SIS’s encourage less spending on illegal black market substances and therefore make them necessary to fight drug abuse. These sites will lower the chance of people turning to a black market for drugs, since different illicit substances are not available for people to buy in the market, so they turn to a black market. This is dangerous as many of these substances are either fake or have more illicit substitutes in the drug. Some of the illicit drugs bought are heroin, cocaine, marijuana, fentanyl, methamphetamine, and prescription opioids. According to an article titled, Study: Americans Spent $146 Billion on Illegal Drugs in 2016, posted by the US News and World Report, Americans have spent somewhere between $121 to $146 billion dollars on illegaldrugs such as cocaine or heroin (Galvin Gaby). This study signifies the connection between drug users and the black market. When illicit drugs are not easy to obtain, many participate in a black market. SIS’s help as they supply these illicit substances to drug users who want them instead of initiating in a black market. This is important as it means there will be less black market drug spending by drug users. This makes the SIS essential to combat the war on drugs as it will reduce overall black-market drug spending.
Finally, SIS’s lead drug users away from illicit substances by the Health and Treatment services that they offer. According to a study done on ISNITE by Ministry of Health of the Government of Canada, services such as detoxification, and counseling are offered at these sites: “INSITE encourages users to seek counseling, detoxification, and treatment. Such activities have contributed to an increased use in detoxification services and increased engagement in treatment” (Canada.ca). This is important as offering treatment for drug abuse can discourage further drug addiction and misuse. Treatments and services will combat the war on drugs beneficially by drawing people away from malicious substances such as heroin or marijuana and offer them facilities to productively stop their drug habits.
Therefore, it’s proven that SIS’s are an effective approach to take against drugs because these sites don’t raise crime, offer medical services to drug misusers, provide clean sterile equipment to reduce disease transmission and health risks, reduce black market drug spending, and cater different treatments and detoxification facilities. The benefits of a SIS’s are demonstrated by the impact it will take on drug abuse. Current methods have been ineffective in the way they combat the war on drugs, and SIS’s are the a promising way out. The war on drugs has been going on for years, and the only way to slow it down is to open these SIS’s to insure there is a better and healthier future for drug users and finally win the war on drugs.
Works Cited
Clement, Tony. "Vancouver's INSITE Service and Other Supervised Injection Sites: What Has Been Learned from Research? - Final Report of the Expert Advisory Committee on Supervised Injection Site Research [Health Canada, 2008]." Canada.ca, Government of Canada, Mar. 2008, www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/corporate/about-health-canada/reports-publications/vancouver-insite-service-other-supervised-injection-sites-what-been-learned-research.html. Accessed 4 Mar. 2021.
Galvin, Gaby. "Study: Americans Spent $146 Billion on Illegal Drugs in 2016." U.S News and World Report, 20 Aug. 2019. U.S News and World Report, www.hhs.gov/opioids/about-the-epidemic/index.html. Accessed 20 Feb. 2021.
"Injection Safety." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 21 May 2010, www.cdc.gov/injectionsafety/patients/syringereuse_faqs.html. Accessed 20 Feb. 2021.
Ministry of Health. "Supervised Consumption Sites." PDF file.
"The Opioid Epidemic by the Numbers." HHS.gov, www.hhs.gov/opioids/about-the-epidemic/index.html. Accessed 19 Feb. 2021. Infographic.