Recently, I testified before the Colorado State Legislature Committee that was assigned SB18-040 – Substance Use Disorder Harm Reduction. Among other things, this bill was designed to create a supervised injection facility pilot program and provide civil and criminal immunity for the approved supervised injection facility. As you can imagine, that part of the bill generated almost all of the testimony.
I was one of the few people in the packed room or frankly in the state that had actually visited a supervised injection facility, seen how well it works, and talked with staff and the clients. Listening to their stories and seeing how far they had come further convinced me that to work, effective drug treatment policies must go beyond what they are today.
The Senate Committee Heard Compelling and Heartbreaking Stories
The testimony was compelling and heartbreaking. Mothers, some in tears, shared their stories of losing children to overdose – overdoses they believed could have been prevented if there had been a supervised injection facility with staff trained to deal with overdoses. Other witnesses, some former drug users, testified that they might have been able to get clean much sooner if there had been a place for them to get help and walk them through the processes of using safely, building trust in the system, and then becoming ready to work on sobriety.
It became clear that there was a need for a supervised injection facility and frankly almost all of the testimony was in favor of the bill. All but one witness, a grad student, who questioned “Does it work?” She expressed doubt because she had not found recent studies that had been conducted since the early 2000s. She testified that the lack of recent studies had to be because they were not working. A few of us had actually visited a supervised injection facility and seen how they worked, but the absence of an actual study caused the bill to die.
My prepared remarks on Harm Reduction and Supervised Injection Facilities Mapped Out the Success and Benefits I Personally Observed in These Facilities.
My testimony described that effective drug treatment strategies utilize four pillars—biomedical strategies, psychological strategies, social approaches, and harm reduction.
I saw these strategies in action while speaking at a Harm Reduction Conference in Switzerland and then touring a Supervised Injection Facility in Frankfurt, Germany.
The most progressive part is the Harm Reduction pillar, which recognizes that although drugs and alcohol can have destructive impacts on the lives of the people who use them, it is also extremely difficult for many to become abstinent. Thus, many are not ready or able to stop. Harm reduction strategies “meet people where they are”.
My testimony included a history of how supervised injection facilities came to be and a conversation of the former Swiss President Ruth Dreifuss, who is now a Commissioner on the Global Commission on Drug Policy and a proponent of supervised injection facilities.
I learned that supervised injection facilities play an essential role in Harm Reduction and Public Safety. Because frankly, Public Safety and Harm Reduction are two halves of the same drug policy coin. Implementing Harm Reduction concepts for persons who use drugs generally means that they will not inject on the street, the alley, or in a public restroom. By definition, that increases public safety.
Harm reduction encompasses a number of things, including needle exchanges and supervised injection facilities.
- Clients must schedule a time to enter and use the Supervised Injection Facility.
- The supervised injection room has two parts that are divided by a glass wall.
- Medical professionals are on one side of the wall and clients use study carrels on the other side of the wall to consume.
- Onsite medical professionals can either administer medication to counter the overdose such as Narcan or call for an ambulance.
Services include:
- Social Services
- Craft Shops
- Living Quarters
- Dining Room
- Drug Counseling
Some statistics about the Supervised Injection Facility in Germany:
- The non-profit facility was founded in 1989.
- The first Supervised Injunction Room opened in 1991.
- 25 Supervised Injunction Rooms are operating throughout Germany (4 are in Frankfurt).
- HIV prevalence in persons who use drugs decreased from 20% to 4-6% today.
- The facility I toured serves approximately 1,500 clients annually, and 1,200 are referred for other social services and help.
Benefits as a result of Supervised Injection Facilities:
- To the general public: the people who use drugs consume mainly in those facilities instead of public places.
- This reduces the tension in public places, which lessens the need for police action and increases the feeling of security among the public.
You can read the full testimony here.
I explained to the Committee that I have seen these facilities work and am impressed by the way drug users are treated with respect, dignity, and humanity. Not only does this reduce harm for the people who use drugs, but it reduces harm for the community. Because when people stop injecting in bathrooms, doorways, and alleys, by definition public safety improves.
More Work is Needed to Solve the Opioid Crisis
The bill did not make it out of committee, which signals to me that there is more work to be done to convince us that a radical approach to drug treatment policy may be necessary. Thanks to the forward-thinking legislators who testified on behalf of the bill and voted for the bill: Senator Kent Lambert; Senator Cheri Jahn; Senator Lois Court; and Senator Stephen Fenberg.
While it might make people uncomfortable and is a difficult subject to address, nothing worth doing is ever easy.
Now that you have more information – What are your thoughts? Let’s begin the dialogue now. What do you think about supervised injection facilities and if you support the idea, would you support the idea in your neighborhood? Post your comments below
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