A safe drug use advocate from Seattle believes that the only way to combat the opioid epidemic is to build a safe drug use area.
Seattle’s Police has issued a warning to all heroin users after an impure batch determined four people to overdose on Saturday. Unfortunately, three of the people who overdosed on heroin could not be saved.
In an attempt to stem the tide of opioid consumption, Seattle’s Police Department and the health officials representing King County have issued a city-wide warning to all heroin users. The authorities said that the narcotics which caused four overdose case on Saturday were probably sold by the same street dealer.
In addition, the authorities recommended heroin users to be accompanied by someone who does not consume narcotics. This rather peculiar statement coming from Seattle’s Police Department was meant to decrease the likelihood of death among heroin consumers.
According to the guidelines issued by Seattle’s PD and King Fish health officials, no heroin users should attempt to take a substance if he or she is not accompanied by another person. The ‘chaperone’ can keep an eye on the addict’s vital functions, and promptly act I case of an overdose.
In addition, the authorities recommend ‘chaperons’ to carry around the OD reversal drug called Narcan and to call 911 as soon as the first OD symptoms settle in.
In response to Seattle’s drug use recommendations, Shilo Murphy, the acting president of the People’s Harm Reduction Alliance, an organization which advocates safe drug use, declared that the best way to prevent drug overdose is to create a safe drug use area.
Although Murphy’s proposal is controversial, the man explained that this is the only way to prevent future deaths attributed to overdose. So, what is this safe drug use area? According to Murphy’s project, these safe drug use areas will be evenly distributed through the city.
The safe drug use areas will be clean, and the users will have access to improved medical services. Furthermore, it would seem that the King County medical officials approve Murphy’s solutions and urge the city of Seattle to begin constructing safe drug use areas as soon as possible.
However, there are some voices in the city’s council who argue that such a project would only serve to increase the number of heroin consumers, thus adding to the city’s increasing opioid use epidemic. At the moment, we are not sure whether Seattle will approve or reject Murphy’s proposal, but time is short, and something needs to be done in order to minimize OD-related deaths.
Image source: Wikipedia