The Victorian government’s decision to reject a second Melbourne injecting room earlier this year provoked a polarised public debate, but one voice was largely missing in the media coverage.
Nitazenes can be up to 50 times stronger than fentanyl. They’re not yet common in Australia, so now’s the time to implement policies to reduce their harm and limit their uptake.
While fentanyl is yet to markedly impact Australia, the North American opioid crisis shows us how bad it can get, and urgent action is needed now.
Victoria’s Labor Party flipped and flopped in its support of Melbourne’s first medically supervised injecting room, depending on what was politically expedient and popular at the time.
Addiction and problematic drug use is mostly a result of social disadvantage and personal trauma.
Melbourne is set to get its second safe injecting facility, but objections to them continue to overshadow the enormous public health gains made.
The recent controversy embroiling the Richmond injecting room is overshadowing its positive community impact.
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