Not every problem has a solution that we are comfortable with. The opioid epidemic and the overdose crisis are two examples of such problems. There has been a lot of work by states and cities to tackle the epidemic and mitigate harm. Laws limiting opioid prescriptions have been enacted (controversially), DEA regulations on who can administer treatment were laxed, Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs were founded, and states of emergency were declared.
“The United States has seen a vigorous legislative response to the opioid epidemic,” writes Scott Burris, the Director of the Center for Public Health Law Research at Temple University, in a recent article, “but legislators are running out of easy targets as the most popular ideas are adopted in all the states.
With no more low-hanging fruits left on the tree, and with the epidemic still raging, it is time to confront the solutions that we are less comfortable with. Philadelphia found itself in the middle of this conversation after city officials announced that they would encourage private organizations to operate comprehensive-user engagement sites, commonly known as safe-consumption sites.
While Philadelphia is the first city in which officials gave their blessing to open a safe-consumption site, other cities—including Denver, Seattle, and New York—are currently considering opening such sites. Two weeks after Philadelphia’s announcement, San-Francisco announced that the city is expecting to be the first city with a site coming July 1st of this year.
[For more of this story, written by Abraham Gutman, go tohttps://www.thefix.com/its-time-uncomfortable-solutions-opioid-epidemic]
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