New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the opening of two “controlled drug use” centers in the city.
These country’s first such facilities, also known as drug overdose prevention centers, will give drug addicts the ability to use illicit drugs in a “safe place,” with medical staff on duty to intervene in overdose cases and social workers offering drug addicts a variety of options. Services.
“Overdose Prevention Centers are a safe and effective way to deal with the opioid crisis. And I am proud that we can demonstrate to other cities in the country that a smarter approach to this problem is possible, ”de Blasio said.
The two locations will operate under the supervision of two nonprofit organizations, the New York Harm Reduction Educators, located on East 126th Street in Harlem, and the Washington Heights CORNER Project, located on West 180th Street. Both organizations will be funded from city funds.
According to statistics, in New York, one person dies from an overdose every four hours. This is more than the total number of fatalities from homicide, suicide and car accidents. In the first quarter of this year, 596 people died of overdose, the highest quarterly rate since registration began in 2000.
Newspaper headline:
Drugs are coming out of hiding
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