PARIS, France — France’s health minister visited the country’s first “shooting gallery” for hard drug addicts on Tuesday as opposition politicians denounced the experiment at a hospital in northern Paris. The center at the Lariboisiere hospital, in a gritty district near the Gare du Nord train station known for its high concentration of hard drug users, is expected to receive 100 people a day. Opponents also say the center risks drawing more drug dealers to the neighborhood. France is mulling opening similar facilities in the northeastern city of Strasbourg and in southwestern Bordeaux as part of a six-year experiment. While some medical bodies and associations working with addicts have long called for such centers in France, other specialists feel they are counterproductive.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer October 12, 2016 00:00 UTC