Judy Ryan’s book describes, in meticulous detail, what it took for the Victorian government to trial the state’s first safe injecting facility, through the lens of a local Richmond resident.
Sydney’s supervised injection room in Kings Cross has helped reduce harmful drug use. But many drug users who live in the outer suburbs find it difficult to get to the inner-city facility.
Opioids kill an average of eight people every day in Canada. The federal government must officially declare this a ‘public welfare emergency’ and invest the funds critical to a humane response.
There’s no legal reason why Victoria can’t have its own medically supervised drug injecting room to prevent more overdoses, despite political setbacks.