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Supervised Safe Injection Sites


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Yesterday I was talking to a friend on the phone who lives in the USA and was telling her about this new safe injection site we have in our city in Canada. She'd never heard of it.  As I described it, I said "They have this building near downtown where people can take their illegal drugs into and be given clean needles and supervised while they shoot up, by nurses, to make sure they don't overdose and die."  As I said it, I realized how very insane it sounds.  Most of us here on BB are fighting for our lives to get off legal drugs with little to no support and this is happening for real in several cities in Canada, the US and other countries. 

 

Thoughts?

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1)  Unless used in combination with other drugs, benzos are rarely, if ever, life threatening.

 

2)  So are you suggesting that trying to provide a system that makes illegal drug use less dangerous is a bad idea?

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Scotland wants to go down this route also.  This is today's news.  There is no support for prescribed drug dependence.  I have no objection to illegal drug addicts getting help but I do object to the lack of help for those of us who took drugs as prescribed.

 

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-48938509

 

What kind of "help" do you think needs to be provided?

 

I had the full cooperation of my GP, my Pdoc, and my (2) pharmacists.

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What kind of "help" do you think needs to be provided?

 

I had the full cooperation of my GP, my Pdoc, and my (2) pharmacists.

 

 

Builder...thx for answering your own question....wish all of us were treated like that.

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I think it's in an effort (partly) to keep needles off the street. In San Francisco, where I live, there are a lot of homeless people. In the area where I live, there's a school. I would see needles on the street near where the children walked.

 

I think this is an excellent idea if it passes. It also helps to keep track of the needles, which drug addicts just discard anywhere.

 

Here is some info from SF:

 

It would also mandate injection clinics to “provide access or referrals to substance use disorder treatment services, medical services, mental health services, and social services.”

 

Overdose prevention program would allow for experimental injection drug centers in SF until 2026

 

The proposal could also cut down on hazardous medical waste on city streets. According to the SF Department of Public Health, “85 percent of injection drug users would use these types of services” if available, leading to more safe disposal and less frequent street use.

 

 

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Scotland wants to go down this route also.  This is today's news.  There is no support for prescribed drug dependence.  I have no objection to illegal drug addicts getting help but I do object to the lack of help for those of us who took drugs as prescribed.

 

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-48938509

 

What kind of "help" do you think needs to be provided?

 

I had the full cooperation of my GP, my Pdoc, and my (2) pharmacists.

 

Tapering guidance for benzos has already been revised in the UK so I hope all doctors will become aware of that.  Tapering guidance for antidepressants now under review and RCPsych has issued new policy statement on antidepressants. I believe there should be 24 hour telephone help as well as support services locally probably in GP practices or other venues.  I believe research is underway looking at internet support with doctors available to talk to online .. we are all waiting for Public Health England to publish its review.  I also think there should be specialist help for those who are very badly affected.  My GP said he had no expertise to help me, psychiatrist could offer nothing and neurology likewise.  I don't think that is good enough.  I expected some sort of help over the past 6 years apart for the offer of psychological therapy.  They all seemed to be totally at a loss as to what to do in my case. 

 

As for illegal drugs I have no knowledge of that subject.

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Yesterday I was talking to a friend on the phone who lives in the USA and was telling her about this new safe injection site we have in our city in Canada. She'd never heard of it.  As I described it, I said "They have this building near downtown where people can take their illegal drugs into and be given clean needles and supervised while they shoot up, by nurses, to make sure they don't overdose and die."  As I said it, I realized how very insane it sounds.  Most of us here on BB are fighting for our lives to get off legal drugs with little to no support and this is happening for real in several cities in Canada, the US and other countries. 

 

Thoughts?

 

hey Whoopsie, per your sig i really would like to know more about your taper off of polydrugs after 20 years+ of poludrugging! i have similar hx and drug sig..

 

as for your point above, i support anything that lowers the AIDS and hepatitis etc rate. including free and supervised clinics/shooting galleries. it is a public health issue, not a morality issue. say for instance, these ex addicts go on to lead productive lives but accidentally pass on HIV to their newborn. the newborn grows up and passes on the HIV...to innocents....the newborn and its partners...or say someone aquired HIV or hepatitis from being raped. see how it becomes a public health issue?

 

anyways yes i DO think there should be equal medical treatments and funds availble to us as we are attempting to come off of the rx drugs we've become dependent on, no two ways about it! :thumbsup:

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Yesterday I was talking to a friend on the phone who lives in the USA and was telling her about this new safe injection site we have in our city in Canada. She'd never heard of it.  As I described it, I said "They have this building near downtown where people can take their illegal drugs into and be given clean needles and supervised while they shoot up, by nurses, to make sure they don't overdose and die."  As I said it, I realized how very insane it sounds.  Most of us here on BB are fighting for our lives to get off legal drugs with little to no support and this is happening for real in several cities in Canada, the US and other countries. 

 

Thoughts?

 

I don't think it sounds "insane" at all. These sites are saving lives. Reaching these people via safe injection sites can bring them in contact with the public health system, which can then, hopefully, lead to further services that may help them take the next steps along the road to recovery.

 

The death toll from opioid overdoses and related, harder drugs has been enormous over the past few years. I support these safe injection sites as a method to reach those who might otherwise be completely removed from any form of health care.

 

 

 

 

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Yesterday I was talking to a friend on the phone who lives in the USA and was telling her about this new safe injection site we have in our city in Canada. She'd never heard of it.  As I described it, I said "They have this building near downtown where people can take their illegal drugs into and be given clean needles and supervised while they shoot up, by nurses, to make sure they don't overdose and die."  As I said it, I realized how very insane it sounds.  Most of us here on BB are fighting for our lives to get off legal drugs with little to no support and this is happening for real in several cities in Canada, the US and other countries. 

 

Thoughts?

 

I don't think it sounds "insane" at all. These sites are saving lives. Reaching these people via safe injection sites can bring them in contact with the public health system, which can then, hopefully, lead to further services that may help them take the next steps along the road to recovery.

 

The death toll from opioid overdoses and related, harder drugs has been enormous over the past few years. I support these safe injection sites as a method to reach those who might otherwise be completely removed from any form of health care.

 

Well said.

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Yes, well said, Lapis!! I agree with everything you say. There are a great many people who are under the radar, and reaching those people would be very good.
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Yesterday I was talking to a friend on the phone who lives in the USA and was telling her about this new safe injection site we have in our city in Canada. She'd never heard of it.  As I described it, I said "They have this building near downtown where people can take their illegal drugs into and be given clean needles and supervised while they shoot up, by nurses, to make sure they don't overdose and die."  As I said it, I realized how very insane it sounds.  Most of us here on BB are fighting for our lives to get off legal drugs with little to no support and this is happening for real in several cities in Canada, the US and other countries. 

 

Thoughts?

 

Good point Whoopsie. I've thought of this when watching the evening news. As you know we live fairly close to each other.

 

It really irks me that the public seems to have acquired a good knowledge of the dangers associated with some of these drugs like fentanyl yet remain in the dark about drugs like benzos.

 

It's not uncommon at all for people to carry naloxone opiod overdose prevention kits especially in the bigger cities like Vancouver, so they can come to the aid of an overdose victim.

 

Once again benzos get shoved under the carpet.

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