By KURTIS RATTAY
Drug policy reformers and harm reduction advocates rallied on the steps of City Hall Thursday, demanding Mayor de Blasio support supervised drug injection sites and release a $100,000 commissioned report which might aid in decriminalizing drug use in New York City.
In 2016, more than 1,300 overdose deaths were reported in New York City, a 46 percent increase from 2015, according to Drug Policy Alliance. Broken down by the day, one New Yorker dies about every seven hours from overdose. 2016 marked the sixth consecutive year of climbing overdose deaths.
This is why decriminalization advocates like Drug Policy Alliance, Vocal New York and former Manhattan borough president C. Virginia Fields are calling for “safer consumption spaces,” where drug users have access to sterile syringes and are supervised by medical staff. With about 100 safer consumption spaces in the world, no overdose deaths have been documented, Drug Policy Alliance said in a statement.
“Those sites are designed to reduce the risks of HIV, Hepatitis-C and overdose fatalities, and to connect persons who are using drugs to treatment and other social services,” Fields said. “The mayor has commissioned a study to look at this issue here in the city that can help inform us as to what services are needed.”
Drug reform supporters and racial justice advocates also highlighted the disproportionate policing of drug users in black and brown communities.
According to Kassandra Frederique of Drug Policy Alliance, in low-income communities of color, the police department treats overdoses as homicide investigations and approaches people entering syringe exchanges to work as confidential informants.
“We shouldn’t have to wait for white people to say they need help for our communities to get help,” Frederique said. “Latinx and black people are just as worthy for their lives to be saved. Places like safer consumption spaces not only save lives but it protects us from NYPD.”
About 45 supporters carrying signs and an “#endoverdoseNY” banner were quick to echo speakers with chants like “not one more death” and “release the report.” Usually, two or three police officers guard the two entrances to City Hall. During the rally, the police presence doubled at each entrance.
Recent shifts in New York City from “draconian drug war tactics” to decriminalization include the 911 Good Samaritan Law which protects those reporting an overdose from arrest, increasing access to the overdose antidote naloxone and making sterile syringes more available.
The first safer consumption site in the U.S. is scheduled to open in San Francisco this year. Earlier this year, Philadelphia mayor Jim Kenney gave the go-ahead for safer consumption sites. New York harm reduction advocates hope the city will follow suit.
Photo by Kurtis Rattay
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