Overdose Prevention Centers, also known as Safe Injection Sites or Supervised Consumption Sites, are facilities where individuals living with substance use disorder and who are injecting or inhaling drugs are able to use them in a location where they have access to sterile materials and health care professionals. By legalizing these facilities in Massachusetts, advocates predict we will see a dramatic decrease in overdose deaths and bloodborne illnesses such as Hepatitis and HIV/AIDS, and an increase in individuals seeking recovery resources.
While this may sound like an unusual program to some, creating a space in which people can directly interact with care professionals has had documented successes in preventing overdose deaths, reducing costs to healthcare systems, and providing access to treatment programs. Facilities are already in operation across Canada and in New York City, and thus far not a single fatal overdose has been reported. A site will open soon in Providence, Rhode Island and the State of Minnesota has passed legislation to authorize sites.
Sen. Keenan has spent significant time on his own visiting these facilities. His observations, “I visited supervised consumption sites in six cities. Here’s what I found.” were printed in the Boston Globe.
There is much information available about the effectiveness of the sites and issues related to locating a site. Among the literature, I found this study particularly informative and direct those interested to the references found at the end of the study.
As Massachusetts moves towards permitting overdose prevention centers or supervised consumption sites, based on my observations I make the following baseline recommendations for communities considering locating a facility:
- Facilities should establish close working relationships with local law enforcement, government officials, business owners, educators, neighborhood groups, health care providers, and community service providers, and facilities should have advisory committees that include all the above as well as people who use drugs and use the facilities.
- There must be a robust public engagement process that includes, at a minimum, comprehensive education about the public health benefits of such sites, showing their effectiveness in preventing overdose deaths and the spread of diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis C.
- The public should also be educated about the role such facilities play in reducing the strain on first responders and hospitals and in reducing health insurance costs by avoiding costly responses to emergency calls.
- The latest data on community impacts available from other places where sites are located should be shared openly and completely.
- Law enforcement and other first responder leaders should be informed and educated about the sites, with the education to include visits to nearby sites in New York and Montreal and meetings with law enforcement, medical responders, and members of those communities.
- Communities considering sites should be aware that initially the sites will draw new people to the communities and that the use of the facilities will then become regular and predictable.
- Facility exterior design should fit with the look and character of the communities where they will be located.
- Facility operators should have regular community litter pickup and needle retrieval programs.
- Facility operators, local business owners, municipal officials, and law enforcement should have plans to discourage loitering in the areas of the facilities.
- Communities and local law enforcement should have zero tolerance for open and obvious drug sales and purchases in the areas of the facilities.
- Facilities should be staffed with appropriate medical personnel as well as trained peer-to-peer counselors and licensed recovery coaches.
- Facilities should have separate spaces for women or LGBTQ community members who do not feel safe in a communal use setting.
- Facilities should provide testing of drugs.
- Facilities should have formalized relationships with treatment providers, including those providing medication for opioid use disorders and all other treatments for opioids and other drugs used in the facilities.
- Facilities should work with local public health departments and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to establish robust data collection while respecting the privacy of individuals who use the facilities.
Below are links to websites for some Overdose Prevention Centers:
State Senator John F. Keenan 