While opponents say the sites promote illegal drug use, supporters say they can keep people alive and steer them toward treatment. In 2015, the number of heroin deaths nationwide surpassed the number of deaths from gun homicides. After that facility opened in 2003, researchers found that overdose deaths in the surrounding community dropped 35 percent in just two years. Still, British Columbia recorded 914 overdose deaths last year, up 80 percent from 2015. Currently, Boston Health Care for the Homeless offers medical monitoring to people who have injected illegal drugs, but they are not permitted to use drugs onsite.

Source: Washington Post January 28, 2017 02:07 UTC