“For the first time in the 12-year history of the Rx and Illicit Drug Summit, the topic of overdose prevention centers (OPCs) took center stage on Thursday morning.
Sam Rivera (Executive Director of OnPoint NYC) opened the session by highlighting the services offered at OnPoint, which in addition to supervising drug use also provides case management, holistic health, and support services. OnPoint has registered about 3200 users since beginning to allow drug consumption on its premises in November 2021. Users are not provided with any drugs by OnPoint, but they are allowed to consume what they bring in themselves.
At launch, opponents of OnPoint’s supervised injection services expressed concern that the facilities in East Harlem and Washington Heights, New York, would become magnets for drug dealers, but that has not been the case, Rivera said.
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