OD prevention centers
overdose prevention centers.docx
1 / 4
Opinion: It is time for the city of Portland to open designated Overdose Prevention Centers
By Robert Kroupa
Overdose Prevention Centers (OPC), also known as Supervised Injection Sites, although controversial, are an effective way to prevent the fatal drug overdoses that have been on the rise nationally, as well another method to reduce the spread of blood borne diseases. The opioid crisis has gotten so severe that it has taken the lives of over half a million Americans since the turn of the millennium, according to a new book.1 Therefore, the time has come to open OPC’s in Portland.
At the present time there are at least 100 supervised injection sites operate around the world, mainly in Europe, Canada and Australia. One of the first places to open such a facility, though, is Vancouver, British Columbia. Canada, known for their liberal drug laws/approach, has a “Four Pillars” drug strategy of prevention, enforcement, harm reduction and treatment. The first center, known as Insite, opened in downtown Vancouver in 2003, and as the longest running center, it is also likely the most thoroughly evaluated. According to more than thirty different studies, published in journals such as the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) and the New England Journal of Medicine, the center has provided an assortment of benefits not only for drug users but for the community in general, including reductions in public injecting (people “shooting up” on the street), reduced needle sharing, and increases in the use of addiction treatment among patients.2 In 2011, The Lancet, one the world best known medical journals, published a study by a team of researchers from the University of British Columbia (UBC), indicating a 35% decrease in overdose deaths because of Insite.3 Furthermore, the center has become widely popular, with some 76% of Vancouver residents citing support for the center, according to a comprehensive government survey.4
1 Higham, Scott; Sari Horowitz (2022). American Cartel.
2 Deborah Jones (October 2006). "Injection site gets 16-month extension". CMAJ. 175 (8): 859. doi:10.1503/cmaj.061209. PMC 1586084. PMID 17030931.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1586084/
3 Christian, Gary; et al. (2012). "Overdose deaths and Vancouver's supervised injection facility". The Lancet. 379 (9811): 117, author reply 118–19.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2812%2960054-3/fulltext
4 Ogborne, Alan; Bryce Larke; Darryl Plecas; Irvin Waller; Jürgen Rehm (March 31, 2008). "Final report of the Expert Advisory Committee". Health Canada.
https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/corporate/about-health-canada/reports-publications/vancouver-insite-service-other-supervised-injection-sites-what-been-learned-research.html#ex
2 / 4
The city of Portland is no stranger to other forms of the “harm reduction” approach to drug use, and has long permitted services that provide/exchange clean syringes in order to prevent the spread of diseases. One local organization that has many functions, including operating such an exchange, is Outside In (OI). Founded in 1968, OI’s stated mission is to support youth experiencing homelessness and other marginalized people as they move toward improved health and self sufficiency. I spoke with Haven Wheelock, who currently runs their Drug Users Health Services Program:
“I am a strong advocate for taking a harm reduction approach, for sure. People who use drugs deserve to have the tools that they need to stay healthy and using drugs should not mean that you have to risk death when we have the tools to prevent it. People can only change and heal when they have the time and space to do that and harm reduction is all about working with people to be as safe and healthy as they can be no matter where they are on their journey.”
3 / 4
When I asked her about opening Overdose Prevention Sites here in Portland, she explained:
“I do believe that most places could benefit from having OPS (Overdose Prevention Sites). I think the way that each place would need to approach these services would look different depending on the community and the budget that they serve. Overdose Prevention Sites have long demonstrated that they can save lives and promote health and in a growing overdose crisis. They are an intervention that our community needs.”
Joseph Bazeghi, Director of Recovery Works NW, one of Oregon’s largest providers of medication assisted treatment (MAT/MSR), supports Overdose Prevention Sites. “Every day our staff is reminded how urgent the contaminated meth and fentanyl crisis is. Overdose prevention sites are an easy, low-cost and evidence based means to reducing unnecessary deaths in our community that also connect individuals with much needed public health services. Oregon voters decided to remove criminal penalties for personal possession, now we need to stop the bleeding and provide services to those most impacted by the ‘war on drugs’, including BIPOC, Latinx, LGBTQIA+ and young people in Oregon.”
What would such a facility even look like? Usually, people come in with their own drugs and are given clean needles and a clean, safe space to consume them. Staff are on hand with breathing masks and naloxone, the overdose antidote, and to provide safer injection advice and information about drug treatment, safer sex practices, and other health services. Also, people sometimes have issues like infections and/or abscesses that need medical attention.
4 / 4
Making an ambitious proposal such as this a reality in Portland would not come without challenges, including both legal complications and funding. In November of last year (2021), the nation’s first OPC opened, in New York City. Unsurprisingly, some residents and politicians are strongly opposed:
“Telling addicts: ‘Come here and inject heroin safely,’ is the exact opposite of what we need to reduce drug use- treatment and prevention,” New York State Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay said in a statement. Nicole Malliotakis, a Republican representative in Congress from NYC, introduced a bill that strips federal funding from any organization that participates in the program. “Instead, we should be focused on long term treatment. We should also be focused on stopping the problem at it’s core, which means we should be going after the supply,” she claims. Others, however, such as Brian Weeks, a drug user who became addicted to pain pills after a violent mugging ten years ago, strongly disagree.
“I think I would be dead if it wasn’t for this facility,” he says, according to a piece in Politico.5
5 https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/14/new-york-experiment-drug-use-national-model-00031876