Proposed Legislation Would Legalize Supervised Injection Facilities To Combat Drug Overdoses tspr.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from tspr.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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State Rep. LaShawn Ford (D-Chicago) has proposed the creation of safe consumption rooms also referred to as supervised injection facilities. Proponents of similar programs around the world argue they allow people who suffer from addiction to take substances in a safe environment and reduce the likelihood of fatal overdoses.
“We know that not meeting people where they’re at to provide the support that they need to end the struggle of a substance use disorder only harms the community with loose needles [and] only harms families with preventable drug overdoses,” Ford said.
Currently, such facilities are illegal in the United States and only exist in Canada, Australia, and 10 countries in Europe. Like other legalized injection programs around the world, Ford’s proposal would not stipulate that facilities provide illegal drugs, but rather allow patients to bring in their own supply of drugs that they buy off the street.
How can advertising reduce cocaine use? campaignlive.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from campaignlive.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
What’s new? Coca crops have set record yields in Colombia since the 2016 peace accord with FARC guerrillas, persuading the government to expand its forced eradication campaign with the backing of U.S. authorities. Bogotá claims that eliminating the plant will reduce rural violence.
Why does it matter? Insecurity in Colombia’s countryside has steadily got worse in recent years as armed groups vie with one another and the military for supremacy. Enhanced eradication, and potentially aerial fumigation, could intensify violence by forcing farmers into the clutches of armed outfits, while failing to stop the replanting of coca.
What should be done? Colombia and the U.S., the lead outside backer of tough counter-narcotic policies in Latin America, should turn the page on using force against coca farmers in a bid to dent global cocaine supply. Boosting rural economies, forging ahead with crop substitution and avoiding clashes with cultivators would make for better policy.