Drug Consumption Room Case Study

Drug Consumption Rooms (DCRs) have been operating in Europe for the last three decades. Their primary aim is to reduce the risks of disease transmission through unhygienic injecting practices, prevent drug-related overdose deaths and connect high-risk drug users with addiction treatment, social and health services. They also hope to reduce the occurrence of drug use in public places and to tackle the number of discarded needles and other public order problems linked with street drug using.
Drug users who congregate in public areas or open drug scenes are often homeless and marginalised, and lack access to social and health care services. Studies suggest that severe health risks are linked to street-based injecting (Klee, 1995; Best et
In European cities, the DCRs were set up in response to health and public order concerns linked to open or street drug use. In the early stages they were closely monitored by the local service provides, police and health authorities to gauge whether the objectives of harm reduction were being met. Results of these observations were reported to local and national policy makers in these countries but were not made public. “The results remained relatively inaccessible to the international research community until reviews in the English language were published (Kimber et al., 2003; EMCDDA,
Every few months there are reports of a child pricking their finger on a discarded syringe or someone sitting on one on a bus seat. If one DCR can have 200 clients using their service that could be a daily reduction of 200 discarded syringes. As in other countries the opening of DCRs could also reduce the number of drug-related deaths we see. They will allow for records of emerging trends and numbers of users in an area to be kept and monitored. The possible positive impact drug consumption rooms could have among the homeless population in our cities is huge. These people have nowhere else to go so they tend to street use. There doesn’t seem to be an end to the homeless crisis in this country so why not try make a difference in other ways, albeit it is not a solution to the problem but it is reducing the risk of harm. Having DCRs attached to other services makes so much sense as several of the client’s needs can be met without them having to go from pillar to post. I think that set ups like these will also add to interagency communication, which can sometimes be problematic with marginalised