Supervised Injection Facilities: A Critical Review of Cases in Canada, Australia, and Western Europe
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Date of Award
Spring 2020
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Historical & Political Studies; College of Arts & Sciences
First Advisor
Jennifer Riggan
Abstract
Globally, communities are experiencing increasing overdose mortality as well as infectious disease among injection drug users (Kerr, Kimber, Debeck, Wood, 2007). Contemporary drug policy in most parts of the world still rely heavily on prohibition and criminalization, however in response to the HIV/Aids epidemic of the 1980s some regions in Europe opted for a harm reduction approach and instituted needle exchange programs and supervised injection facilities (Kammersgaard, 2019). These supervised injection facilities are sanctioned areas where people who inject drugs can inject pre obtained drugs under medical supervision, gain access to sterile injection equipment, receive emergency overdose response, and referrals to social programs (Kerr, Mitra, Kennedy, McNeil, 2017). My research focuses on the effectiveness of these supervised injection facilities in Western Europe, Australia, and Canada as a harm reduction response to treating injection drug use as a health issue rather than a judicial issue. I explore how these international cases can support efforts to start safe injection sites in the United States. By examining international cases of supervised injection facilities and their benefits as a public health intervention for opioid addiction I explore the feasibility of this controversial harm reduction tool being implemented in the Kensington area of Philadelphia, United States as the usually prohibitionist country begins to open up to treating people who inject drugs with more comprehensive care.
Kerr, Thomas, et al. “Supervised Injection Facilities in Canada: Past, Present, and Future.” Harm Reduction Journal, vol. 14, no. 1, 2017.
Kerr, Thomas, et al. “The Role of Safer Injection Facilities in the Response to HIV/AIDS among Injection Drug Users.” Current HIV/AIDS Reports, vol. 4, no. 4, 2007
Kammersgaard, Tobias. “Harm Reduction Policing: From Drug Law Enforcement to Protection.” Contemporary Drug Problems, 2019
Recommended Citation
McGurk, Catherine, "Supervised Injection Facilities: A Critical Review of Cases in Canada, Australia, and Western Europe" (2020). Capstone Showcase. 9.
https://scholarworks.arcadia.edu/showcase/2020/is/9
Supervised Injection Facilities: A Critical Review of Cases in Canada, Australia, and Western Europe
Globally, communities are experiencing increasing overdose mortality as well as infectious disease among injection drug users (Kerr, Kimber, Debeck, Wood, 2007). Contemporary drug policy in most parts of the world still rely heavily on prohibition and criminalization, however in response to the HIV/Aids epidemic of the 1980s some regions in Europe opted for a harm reduction approach and instituted needle exchange programs and supervised injection facilities (Kammersgaard, 2019). These supervised injection facilities are sanctioned areas where people who inject drugs can inject pre obtained drugs under medical supervision, gain access to sterile injection equipment, receive emergency overdose response, and referrals to social programs (Kerr, Mitra, Kennedy, McNeil, 2017). My research focuses on the effectiveness of these supervised injection facilities in Western Europe, Australia, and Canada as a harm reduction response to treating injection drug use as a health issue rather than a judicial issue. I explore how these international cases can support efforts to start safe injection sites in the United States. By examining international cases of supervised injection facilities and their benefits as a public health intervention for opioid addiction I explore the feasibility of this controversial harm reduction tool being implemented in the Kensington area of Philadelphia, United States as the usually prohibitionist country begins to open up to treating people who inject drugs with more comprehensive care.
Kerr, Thomas, et al. “Supervised Injection Facilities in Canada: Past, Present, and Future.” Harm Reduction Journal, vol. 14, no. 1, 2017.
Kerr, Thomas, et al. “The Role of Safer Injection Facilities in the Response to HIV/AIDS among Injection Drug Users.” Current HIV/AIDS Reports, vol. 4, no. 4, 2007
Kammersgaard, Tobias. “Harm Reduction Policing: From Drug Law Enforcement to Protection.” Contemporary Drug Problems, 2019