Seattle Tries to Curb Heroin Deaths by Offering a Safe Place to Use

Almost 30 years ago, at the height of the AIDS crisis, Seattle established one of the first public needle exchanges in the U.S. to contain the spread of the disease. With opioid use reaching epidemic levels, the city has again put itself at the vanguard of treatment with a plan to open facilities where users can take heroin or other opiates under medical supervision. They’ll offer users clean needles and cookers, access to care in case of overdoses, and information about addiction treatment and other public health services.

The centers were proposed in mid-September by King County’s Heroin and Prescription Opiate Addiction Task Force, established in March after Seattle declared a state of emergency because of the rise in homelessness. The goal is to reduce the number of overdoses in the county as well as help users find treatment if they want it. “Our current strategy, the status quo, wasn’t working,” says Dr. Jeff Duchin, Seattle and King County’s top public health officer, who co-chaired the task force. “From our perspective, substance abuse is a medical condition, and it should be viewed the way we view other chronic treatable medical conditions like diabetes.”