Drug Consumption Rooms in Spain, 2010

"The objectives of the drug consumption facilities are:
"- To offer a target population comprised of intravenous drug users outside of the care-providing circuits preventive-educational interventions, emergency care and referral to other resources.
"- To reduce the most frequent infections, the transmission of HIV and viral hepatitis.
"- To identify emerging disorders.
"- To reduce the number and consequences (mortality) of acute drug reactions.
"- To facilitate access to the socio-sanitary networks.
"- To lighten the social impact of intravenous drug use in public areas.
"- To facilitate sterile materials, help for hygiene, food, first-aid, vaccines, etc.
"The fact that they can inject themselves at these facilities is, although important, neither the main nor the sole reason for their existence. The important thing is that they will be able to contact professionals able to provide them with advice concerning the existing resources for providing care for their drug addiction and, in any case, improve their living conditions and health while they remain addicted.
"Also, in view of the high degree of marginality of this subgroup of drug addicts, they are offered additional help, such as educational workshops on hygienic intravenous drug use and preventing overdoses.
"In 2010, eight safe injection or 'drug consumption facilities' were operating in the Autonomous Communities of Catalonia (6), Madrid (1) and the Basque Country (1), having provided care for a total of 8,217 injecting drug users. This figure means a 37.4% decrease compared to the 13,124 of 2009, due mainly to the major drop in the figure for the users for whom care was provided at these facilities in Catalonia.
"Also the social emergency centres, which main purpose is to take in the drug-dependent population with the greatest problems regarding marginalization, they provide for their basic needs and put them in touch with other more demanding resources in the care-providing network and were operating in Spain throughout 2010. Specifically, 41 of these centres have provided care for 10,705 users.
"Regarding the harm reduction aspect, these social emergency centres set priorities for the strategies aimed at reducing adverse drug reaction-related deaths as well as the prevalence of HIV infection and other disorders among opiate and cocaine users."