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Harm Reduction 101 - Part 2; What is a Safe Injection Site?

By Ashley Charzuk, CPSW                                                      October 2019

Currently New Mexico DOES NOT have a state mandated Safe Injection Site.

Safe Injection Sites are medically supervised facilities designed to provide a hygienic and stress-free environment in which individuals are able to consume illicit recreational drugs intravenously and reduce nuisance from public drug use. The legality of such facility is dependent by location and political jurisdiction.

Safe Injection Sites are part of a harm reduction approach towards drug problems. The facilities provide:

sterile injection equipment

information about drugs

basic health care

treatment referrals

access to medical staff to drug addicts

Some (but not all) offer:

counselinghygienic other services of use

Many programs prohibit the sale or purchase of recreational drugs. Many require identification cards. Some restrict access to local residents and apply other admission criteria, such as only allowing injection drug users, but generally in Europe they do not exclude addicts who consume by other means.