Thread by @Farokhnia_Mehdi

Yes, we are still in the middle of a global pandemic, #COVID19, but let’s not forget about the #opioid epidemic, a public health issue we have been dealing with a while... What can we do about it?? #ph260720 #opioidepidemic

In 2017 (more than 4 years ago), @HHSGov declared the #opioidepidemic as a public health emergency. An “emergency” situation that we have not been able to control yet... #publichealthemergency #ph260720
hhs.gov/opioids/about-…

According to @CDCgov and @NIDAnews, more than 70,000 Americans die every year due to opioid overdose. That is 70,000 lives (read in bold!) lost every year, the majority of which is preventable. #opioidepidemic #opioidskill #opioidoverdose #ph260720

Despite some progress, we have a long way to go mainly due to the complexity of this public health issue. The rates of overdose due to traditional opioids is plateau or going down, but overdose due synthetic opioids is on the rise. #ph260720 #syntheticopioids #overdose @samhsagov

Innovative harm reduction solutions are clearly needed to mitigate the burden of the opioid epidemic. Have you heard about supervised injection sites, also known as overdose prevention sites? What do you think about them? #ph260720 #harmreduction

Supervised injection sites provide safe places for drug injection and overdose prevention. The staff do not provide drugs or directly assist in injection, but rather provide sterile injection supplies, monitor overdose, and provide care if needed. #safeinjection #ph260720

Increasing evidence from Europe and Canada shows that supervised injection sites can play a significant role in minimizing the harm associated with injection drug use, at personal and societal levels. #evidencematters #HarmReductionSavesLives #ph260720
dbhids.org/wp-content/upl…

Want to see more evidence? Check out this @nprnews article by @Elana_Gordon: npr.org/sections/healt….
#ph260720 #HarmReductionSavesLives

Despite public health benefits and favorable outcomes in other countries, implementation of supervised injection sites in the U.S. has faced multiple challenges, primarily from legal, political, and ideological standpoints. #ph260720 #trusttheevidence
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…

Good news is that a few months ago (July 2021), in a landmark legislation, Rhode Island became the first state to authorize the use of supervised injection sites statewide. This is just the beginning, but a great step ahead! #ph260720 #RhodeIsland
nextcity.org/urbanist-news/…

There have been some unsanctioned safe injection sites in the U.S. from a long time ago. Do we have any evidence on if they work or not? Any harms? Benefits? #ph260720 #publichealthevidence @NEJM
nejm.org/doi/full/10.10…

Time is up! Don't we have a moral obligation as a society to do WHATEVER we can in our capacity to help reduce the burden of this deadly epidemic on individuals, families, and communities? #ph260720 #harmreduction #fundharmreduction #safeinjection