Promoting safer injecting

When drugs are injected - rather than swallowed, snorted or smoked - more of the drug reaches the brain more quickly. This is particularly true for a drug like heroin that quickly breaks down in the body into morphine. While morphine provides the effect in the brain, it crosses the blood-brain barrier more slowly than heroin. Injecting requires less drug (and less money) to achieve the desired effect.

But injecting drugs is associated with a range of risks and harms. These include:

• infections, abscesses and disease for the person injecting the drugs
• overdose and possible death
• compromised public safety due to discarded needles
• crime and violence associated with prohibition and the black market

Reducing the harm from injection drug use involves a range of initiatives to address drug use patterns, personal and collective capacities and a variety of social and environmental factors.

Some strategies to reduce risk

Reach out and support people who inject drugs (e.g., engage them in conversation about their drug use through open-ended questions; share information like the Safer Injecting brochure; encourage and support their efforts to adopt healthier patterns of use) – see Art of Motivation for ways to offer support (it works for young people and adults).

Collaborate with drug user networks (e.g., support gatherings to share ideas and discuss ways to promote safer injection practices; provide informational resources that can be distributed through the networks; train peer mentors in safer injection practices, emergency response techniques and referral processes).

Support dialogue and cooperation among community-based service providers (e.g., explore ways to work together to reduce harms related to injection drug use; engage in joint initiatives to increase social supports and address public attitudes; provide alternative supplies such as pipes, wire screens and pushsticks to encourage people to smoke rather than inject a drug; develop a common language and understanding on services and supports; develop joint educational materials).

Engage your community in discussions and actions that promote social equity (e.g., work to ensure people have access to secure and safe housing and meaningful employment; promote ways to ensure those who do not have immediate access to safe housing are not put at further risk by needing to consume drugs in public spaces; assess public policy using an equity lens to determine if current policies disproportionately impact some groups within the community).