A social policy research think tank, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, has released a report recommending that Britain institute special centers for heroin addicts.
The centers, more commonly referred to as “shooting galleries” would, according to the report, provide a safe place for heroins addicts to inject themselves and would help cut the instances of disease transmission and overdose.
Shooting galleries have been on trial accross Europe, in Canada and also Australia for some time now, howver the UK government has rejected the calls for centers in that country citing the potential for increased crime as a deterring factor. Their rejection also comes after a 2002 parliamentary enquiry recommended that the government instritute a drug room trial.
The UK is in the position of having the largest number of drug related deaths in Europe, a position the report maintains could be improved by a trial of drug rooms.
The group found that drug consumption rooms:
- can avert drug-related deaths, prevent needle-sharing and improve the general health of users;
- can decrease injecting in public places and reduce the number of discarded, used syringes and drug-related litter;
- do not appear to increase levels of acquisitive crime;
- were generally not associated with public order nuisance or other problems, especially with good interagency co-operation in place;
- are mostly used by local drug users.
Via CNN.
