Lives Saved By Drug Consumption Rooms

"The German aids help organization Deutsche AIDS-Hilfe conducted a national survey on drug emergencies that occurred in 2009 in drug consumption rooms in order to be better able to assess what contribution consumption rooms can make to avoiding drug-related deaths. With 13 facilities from eleven cities, half of all consumption rooms in Germany took part. During the six-month period of enquiry, a total of 266 drug-related emergencies were documented, out of which 263 could be evaluated. 139 cases (53%) were classified as ”light“ or “moderately severe“, 124 (47%) as “severe“ or ”life threatening“. According to the author, it can be assumed that 47% of the people affected would in all probability not have survived the emergency in a different setting (e.g. in their own flat or in public space) and thank their lives to the competent intervention of the consumption room staff (Schaeffer & Stoever 2011)."