Councilors want to consider Boston site where addicts could shoot up under medical supervision

And who pays for all of this.....

End of life care for people they imagine are unable to strive for anything moreR

We want to make it ok for them to shoot up using illegal drugs? Will they be set up with comfy rooms to zombie out in while they are high? Should we get waiters to serve them more illegal drugs? Get real.

Melnea Cass & Mass Ave looks like a warzone because of these idiots. They made a bad choice to give themselves the sickness. Dont give me the addiction is a disease, they didnt catch this or develop it like cancer, they got this by bad decision making. But hey, we are a soft society now, lets give them all hugs and tell em, dont worry, go get your dope and come back to room 302 here and we'll have someone watch you drool all over yourself and it will cost you NOTHING!!!!

BLAH BLAH BLAH BUT DOING DRUGS IS A MORAL FAILURE BLAH ENCOURAGING USE BLAH REMOVING MOTIVATION TO GET CLEAN

BLAH BLAH BLAH ADDICTION IS A DISEASE WE NEED TO HAVE COMPASSION BLAH BLAH BLAH

If this keeps needles out of playgrounds and means local coffee shops allow customers to use their bathrooms again, I'm for it. Saves the system money on ambulance rides, as well.

It's against state law and federal law so why waste time discussing this. And enough of dumping in the South End.
How about at Carney Hospital? Oh right, that won't happen.

Heads up, I'm pulling some of this from my response in another thread.

Supervised Consumption/Safe Spaces are not that novel an idea. Vancouver has had such a space operating since 2003 called Insite - http://www.vch.ca/public-health/harm-reduction/sup... . The outcomes have been widely positive, supported by the local and national government (they've now allowed clinics to open in Toronto), overdoses drop, quality of life for non-users has improved, and communicable diseases have decreased. I'm happy to send out plenty of research to anyone skeptical or interested.

Here's how they work:

You're allowed to stay while you're using, but you can't just hang out in there, as there is limited space. Once you've used, you have to leave within a certain amount of time so that others may use the space. It's not intended to be a place to congregate and be social, and is in fact designed to keep you from socializing as each spot is separated like school library desks. Certainly, there are other services offered by the agency that focus on health advocacy, testing, etc., but once they've used, they can't stay in the consumption space as spots are in very high demand.

Some folks fear it would be a spot for drug users to hang out all day, but what's actually wrong with offering drop in services as well, I'm sure the Boston Public Library, various Dunkin Donuts, the Tufts, BMC, and MGH Emergency Department waiting rooms would love to stop filling that role. We need more day-time homeless shelters, and services for those that utilize them. If you disagree, you have no right to look in disgust as you drive down Melnea Cass and think, "Someone should do something about those people". They're there because where else do they have to go?

If there's concern around whether letting people get high and wander around would create a problem, consider a couple of things:

1. Bars release "high" patrons all night long up until 2am, and those folks are actually a greater health risk to themselves or the community when intoxicated than IV opioid users.

2. These folks are using in public spaces already and then wandering around, this would create more spaces where they wouldn't have to put others at risk or create a problem for city officials, citizens, or business owners.

The most likely utilizers will be street drug users that hang out in the area nearest to the center. Kids from Andover will likely not be heading down to hang out there, but those folks are also at a much lower risk of overdose death. Injection drug use is most risky when it's done alone, in a place where someone won't be found. If I am a homeless person, I'm going to find a place to hide while using (in an alley, a Dunkin Donuts bathroom, hospital bathroom etc..).

I honesty cannot think of one logical reason as to why we shouldn't embrace these types of services. It would reduce the burden on police, reduce the impact on retail owners, reduce the overdose rate and the resource drain/trauma on EMS and Hospital EDs, it would reduce the presence of active drug use on the street in view of children, would reduce the number of discarded syringes in our parks and sidewalks or thrown into city barrels and restaurant toilets,
it would literally improve the lives of people who find folks with addiction to be despicable, while also improving the lives of people who live with addiction, at the same time. It would improve my life because I'd see less of my patients die, I'd have a place to collaborate with to re-engage or connect with new patients, provide education and outreach.

It'd improve the day to day experiences of every cop, doctor, restaurant manager, parks service worker, landscaper, janitor, and tourist in Boston in a way that has evidence showing that it works, and would also save the city money.

Finally, It would be one more way to remember that just because someone is in a bad place in their life, and that we find them offensive, disgusting, scary, or shameful, that they are a still a human, they are still worth some basic dignity, and that they matter.
If you don't think that they're worth that, at least you wouldn't have to look at them so often. You could start to pretend that they don't even exist.