UPDATE MARCH 9, 2022:
NEW YORK (AP) — Two modest rooms in New York City are the first places in the country where local officials are allowing illicit drug use in order to make it less deadly. The privately run “overdose prevention centers” are equipped and staffed to reverse overdoses. Also known as supervised injection sites, they’re a bold and controversial contested response to a storm tide of opioid overdose deaths nationwide. Supporters see them as humane responses to a national surge in overdose deaths, while critics see them as illegal and defeatist. Users say they’re a blessing — a place where someone is looking out to make sure that they don’t die.
NOVEMBER 30, 2021:
NEW YORK (AP) — New York City says the first officially authorized safe havens for people to use heroin and other narcotics have been cleared to open in the city in hopes of curbing overdoses. The city is calling them “overdose prevention centers,” but such facilities are also known as supervised injection sites. They have been discussed for years in New York and some other U.S. cities and already exist in Canada, Australia and Europe. Proponents say the facilities save lives. Opponents say they essentially sanction people harming themselves. Federal law bans operating a place for narcotics use. The city health commissioner says sites are opening Tuesday (Nov. 30, 2021) at existing needle exchange programs.
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