The idea of a center that allows drugs to be injected in a safe and non-legal environment is something that is initially difficult to wrap our logical heads around. How is this not supporting, or even encouraging, drug-use?
It’s an understandable hesitancy, and certainly true if not for it’s true purpose of bringing overdose death numbers down. Safe Injection Sites are not a long term solution, they are a stop-gap savior for those that would otherwise be injecting in the streets with dirty needles and no supervision whatsoever.
So of course, it takes a more complex understanding to get to this point, which requires processing time. It seems like Americans are finally getting the point where this processing is happening.
In a recent poll by Data For Progress (certainly a biased source, so take the numbers with just a little grain of salt), a majority of voters on all sides of the political spectrum support the opening of these centers. Unsurprisingly, Democrats come out much more in favor than Republicans, but a majority of Republicans still inks a small win over those who oppose.
If these numbers hold up, this feels like a turning point for the issue. Along with every other drug topic in the country, an acceptance of a need for a change in how we deal with the issue is progressing as the years go by, and this topic in particular will only become more popular.
There are other interesting findings in the poll, including a majority of voters in support of small amounts of drug decriminalization.
Read about those findings and more at Data For Progress.
