Impact of a medically supervised safer injection facility on community drug use patterns: a before and after study.
OBJECTIVE
Illicit use of injected drugs is linked with high rates of HIV infection and fatal overdose, as well as community concerns about public drug use. Supervised injecting facilities have been proposed as a potential solution, but fears have been raised that they might encourage drug use.


METHODS
A before and after study. Participants and setting 871 injecting drug users recruited from the community in Vancouver, Canada.


METHODS
Rates of relapse into injected drug use among former users and of stopping drug use among current users.


METHODS
Local health authorities established the Vancouver supervised injecting facility to provide injecting drug users with sterile injecting equipment, intervention in the event of overdose, primary health care, and referral to external health and social services.


RESULTS
Analysis of periods before and after the facility's opening showed no substantial increase in the rate of relapse into injected drug use (17% v 20%) and no substantial decrease in the rate of stopping injected drug use (17% v 15%).


CONCLUSIONS
Recently reported benefits of supervised injecting facilities on drug users' high risk behaviours and on public order do not seem to have been offset by negative community impacts.
Kerr
Thomas
T
British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, St. Paul's Hospital,, 608-1081 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6, Canada. tkerr@cfenet.ubc.ca
Stoltz
Jo-Anne
JA
Tyndall
Mark
M
Li
Kathy
K
Zhang
Ruth
R
Montaner
Julio
J
Wood
Evan
E
D000328:Adult; D001955:British Columbia / Q000453:epidemiology; D062787:Drug Overdose / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D040261:Harm Reduction; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012008:Recurrence; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D016320:Substance Abuse Treatment Centers; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016896:Treatment Outcome