Safer injection facilities are a much-needed weapon in the opioid epidemic

DEATH REDUCTION –

April 3, 2021 – Doctors or nurses based at SIFs provide treatment or give referrals to treatment for people with opioid addiction. In my work as a buprenorphine doctor, many of my patients say before meeting me they were unable to find a place to access medication for their addiction. They continued using drugs not because they wanted to but because they could not find treatment. SIFs offer a way to meet people where they are at and provide them with what they need, directly linking them to life saving care.

SIFs open the door to treatment to everyone no matter their status in the community — they save public money, save lives, do not promote drug use, and provide access to life saving treatment. They protect the community from harm. Nevada is no longer a small state with small problems. With treatment ads on the TV and a growing population throughout all parts of the state, Nevada’s libertarian culture is the perfect place to open the first SIF in the country. Support AB345. We need everything available in our arsenal to fight this epidemic and save lives.

Mat Kladney is a Reno native and a graduate of Galena High School. He is an assistant professor of medicine at New York University, and is currently researching how best to treat opioid use disorder by providing buprenorphine and naltrexone for patients at Bellevue Hospital.