Do supervised injection sites increase the amount of hazardous waste in their vicinity?
Studies of safe injection sites have found no increase in drug-related waste after the establishment of medically-supervised facilities offering places for consumers of illicit drugs. There are currently 100 such facilities worldwide, but efforts to establish them in the U.S. have encountered significant community resistance. Advocates say they can reduce overdoses, unhealthy behavior and strain on the medical system.
A 2004 study of a Vancouver facility that opened in 2003 found “significant reductions” in the number of publicly discarded syringes and injection-related litter after the facility opened.
A study examining a facility in Sydney found that within three years of the facility’s opening, there was a “significant decrease in the proportion of residents and business operators who reported having witnessed publicly discarded injecting equipment.”
