Petrelis Files

San Francisco to Open Nation's First Injection Rooms
for Drug Users?

This announcement for an all-day discussion about establishing injection rooms for drug users is more than a trial balloon. It's very much a declaration that San Francisco will soon become the nation's first and only city with such facilities.

Given the fact that three powerful non-profit industries back such a proposal -- homeless advocacy groups, substance abuse and rehab centers, AIDS service organizations -- with the blessing of the health department, it's only a matter of time before we see one or more injection rooms start operating. When three well-funded and politically-connected non-profit complexes decide to do something about a public health issue in San Francisco, there is very little to stop them.

There will be many hurdles to overcome, of course, starting with the current crisis in many neighborhoods over the needle distribution programs that often leave the streets and parks littered with dirty, contaminated syringes. Sure, we officially have an exchange program, but in reality it's a give-away system with no incentive for drug users to return used needles for new ones.

I favor providing clean needles to drug users, to stop the spread of infectious diseases, but San Francisco hasn't done nearly as good a job as it should keeping dirty syringes off the streets and out of playgrounds. If there's a public mandate, and an enforceable and effective one, from the city requiring needle distribution agencies to get used needles back from drug users, I'm not aware of it.

We need the injection rooms and could also use locked boxes in the neighborhoods where needles are given away, so drug users could safely and properly dispose of used needles. I'd also like to know why we don't have such rooms already operating in the Tenderloin and Haight neighborhoods.

When we see the injection rooms open for business, I expect the operators of them will have social workers on-site and lots of information available to get drug users into the health care system, if they're homeless into a shelter, and maybe even sign them up for drug rehab programs.

Among the things that San Francisco has sorely lacked since the advent of needle distribution efforts to stem the tide of diseases, is real neighborhood involvement, accountability of the groups providing the needles and the ability to adapt the programs to address valid complaints from local residents and businesses. Hopefully these issues will be honestly addressed before the injection rooms get going.
As we inch closer to the rooms becoming operational, I'll be very interested in learning what Rep. Nancy Pelosi and all Democratic Party and GOP presidential hopeful think about them, not to mention all the pundits who will jump at the chance to weigh in on the rooms.

Let the debate on injection rooms in San Francisco begin! From the Harm Reduction Coalition web site:

Oct 18 Symposium: Exploring Safer Injection Facilities in San Francisco

Health Department & Community Groups to Discuss Legal Safe Injection Facilities

What: This full day symposium will examine needs, feasibility, support, and various options for a legal Safe Injection Facility for homeless and marginally housed injection drug users, and for the community impacted by them. Speakers include members of law enforcement, public health officials, service providers, legal experts, injection drug users, community groups, leaders in the faith community, and evaluators from InSite, a safe injection facility in Vancouver, Canada.

Why: San Francisco has several large concentrations of injection drug users (IDUs), and while HIV prevalence remains relatively low among IDUs, rates of hepatitis C have reached epidemic levels and fatal opiate overdose remains one of the leading causes of death in San Francisco. Community concerns regarding public drug use and improperly discarded syringes have been raised repeatedly over the last few decades. Twenty-seven other cities in eight countries around the world facing similar issues have opened Safe Injection Facilities, and this symposium will open a broad discussion about this option.

Who: Sponsored by the San Francisco Department of Public Health, and the Alliance for Saving Lives (ASL), a community consortium working to promote community and individual health through legal safer substance use sites. ASL members include the Harm Reduction Coalition, Tenderloin Health, Mission Neighborhood Resource Center, Homeless Youth Alliance, San Francisco AIDS Foundation, Drug Policy Alliance, and individual researchers and service providers throughout San Francisco.

When: Thursday, October 18, 9:30 am to 4:00 pm

Where: Women's Building auditorium, 3543 18th st & Valencia, San Francisco, CA 94110

Cost: FREE, and Continuing Education Units are available for a small fee for RN's, Certified Addiction Treatment Specialists, LCSW's and MFT's. As seating is limited, please RSVP to hrcwest@harmreduction.org to reserve a space.