The United States remains tightly in the grasp of an ongoing, and escalating, crisis of deaths caused by opioid overdoses.

With a record-high 109,000 people dying in 2022, it is clear that something new needs to be done to reverse this trend.

Philadelphia is near the epicenter of the crisis. Some of the country’s largest open-air drug markets can be found in the Kensington neighborhood. Heroin, prescription opioids and fentanyl aren’t the only drugs of concern. Xylazine, a powerful non-opioid also known as tranq, has an overwhelming presence on the streets.

We are a group of Scandinavian and American researchers who have studied drug treatment and harm reduction, and we have been watching the situation in Philadelphia from a variety of perspectives.

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  • AA5B@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    That’s just your opinion, but what are the facts?

    The article is about someone who studied that and while they found it holds true in Denmark, it’s associated with increased drug deaths in Philadelpia.

    I only read the article, which had limited details, so I don’t know what the study may have corrected for or even if there was an actual study, but Philadelpia’s approach may need some adjustment. The basic idea might not even hold true in the US, given other factors, such as lack of healthcare, and demonization of those addicted

    • alienanimals@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      The fact is that drug abuse needs to be treated as a health issue, not one where they get thrown on the streets to die.

    • great_site_not@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      The article is about someone who studied that and while they found it holds true in Denmark, it’s associated with increased drug deaths in Philadelpia.

      What? Where in the article is that even suggested? What data is there that could suggest it–How could it possibly be known that supervised injection sites are associated with increased drug deaths in Philadelphia, when Philadelphia has never had them?

      • AA5B@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        You’re right. I’m the one who can’t read.

        I think I got hung up on some of the wording implying g that it exists, connected to the increased drug deaths

        the Pennsylvania legislature also overwhelmingly voted to ban supervised injection sites in the entire state