Drug Consumption Rooms (DCRs), also known as Supervised/Safe Injection Facilities (SIFs), or Overdose Prevention Centres (OPCs), provide safe environments for people to consume controlled drugs under the supervision of trained professionals who can save lives if medical emergencies such as overdoses take place. These facilities can be a powerful harm reduction strategy when implemented correctly.
In this webinar, we learn from Astrid Leicht, co-founder of FixPunkt, who runs 2 successful drug consumption rooms in Berlin, including at the infamous Kottbusser Tor. Nationwide, there are 25 drug consumption rooms in Germany, and Astrid gives a detailed summary of the impact that these have had on drug use and drug-related harms.
She outlines the laws which apply to drug consumption rooms in Germany, as well as the state regulations in Berlin which prohibit use by first-time users and also sharing of drugs (for example between couples).
Astrid then uses her wealth of experience to provide advice to those who are setting up drug consumption rooms, before diving into the 2 that she runs and the lessons which have been learned. FixPunkt and the other drug consumption rooms in Germany have collected large amounts of data on drug usage patterns and Astrid explains what trends this has revealed.
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