New York City has opened up the first-ever supervised injection site in an effort to curb drug overdoses.
More Americans than ever before are dying of drug overdoses. Last year a new record high was hit, with 100,000 people dying from drug overdoses in the US. In a report published recently by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, death from overdoses rose by 28.5 percent in a year period.
With more than 100,000 deaths between April 2020 and April 20201, drug overdoses became a bigger killer than guns, car crashes, and the flu. In order to prevent overdose deaths, New York City opened two sites on Tuesday called “Overdose Prevention Centers.”
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office issued a statement about the new centers saying that they will be “safe spaces” and provide access to medical care, treatment, and social services for anyone who uses drugs.
The two centers are located in East Harlem and in Washington Heights, two neighborhoods in Manhattan.
New York City specifically saw an increase in overdose deaths over the past year as well. In 2019, there were 1,497 deaths, which rose to 2,062 in 2020. More than 85 percent of the overdoses involved opioids, which is the highest percentage since 2000, the first year the data became available.
The centers are expected to help save the city money as well as lives. Overdoses from opioids cost the city’s healthcare system approximately $50 million a year. Studies found that even one center could save New York $1 million a year.
While New York City is the first to open an injection site, they have been proposed in other cities nationwide, including Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Denver.
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