Safe Injection Rooms

Safe injection sites (SIS) are clinics designed to provide injection drug users (IDUs) clean needles and a sterilized site in order to inject their drugs in a safer manner. The goal of an SIS is to provide individuals a healthier environment in which to inject drugs while also providing related health and social services all in one location. Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands adopted the concept of safe injection rooms during the 1970s as a general public health initiative. However, since then the strategy has been demonstrated to also decrease new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C infections and reduce the number of overdose-related deaths while providing access to primary and emergency healthcare for a traditionally oppressed population. After the opening of a safe ...