Harm Reduction Issues
Overdose Prevention Centers
Overdose prevention centers (OPCs), also known as safer drug consumption services (SCS), are designated sites where people can use pre-obtained drugs under the safety and support of trained personnel. Over the last 30 years, OPCs has been implemented across 100 sites in 67 cities in 11 countries around the world.
Search the Resource Library
Explore our resource library for practical resources to promote the health and dignity of people affected by drug use. You’ll find up-to-date fact sheets, webinars, manuals, training guides, and more.
Overdose Prevention Centers (and Why Does It Matter)?
Just because people use drugs, doesn’t mean they can’t avoid harm. Safer drug use is about lessening the risk of adverse outcomes from using drugs.
These evidence-based harm reduction strategies are proven to reduce the risk of overdose and disease related to drug use.
Overdose prevention
Reduction of public injections
Reduction in HIV and hepatitis C transmission
Safe disposal of syringes
Injection-related infection
Increased access to medical and social services
Contrary to popular belief, they do not increase drug use, crime, or bring drug use into communities. And they can save millions of dollars a year.
Supervised Consumption Services in the US
Harm Reduction is pushing for progress towards implementing SCS in the United States, but we have much work to do. To date, there are no SCS sites in the US.
We’ll continue to share where we, how far we have left to go, and the milestones and victories that happen along the way.
Get the down low on where we are, policy challenges we face, SCS models, benefits and more.
We partnered with other groups in New York City to discuss implementing SCS locally. See what we learned.
Case for Supervised Consumption Services
We hold a vision of supportive environments for people who use drugs in this country. While we hope that in the not-so-distant future we’ll be curating photos and best practices of SCS sites here at home, until then we’ll share tools and info from other countries that have been doing this for over 30 years.