Should drug injecting rooms be established in built-up areas?
Introduction to the media issue
Video clip at right: On March 25, 2021, Channel 7 News reported on a public meeting called in North Richmond to demand the relocation of a drug injecting room following a fatal overdose outside the facility.'I've come to accept that a safe injecting facility can work and can save some lives for addicts, but at this stage we're putting the lives of addicts ahead of the lives of the residents and the kids'
Neil Mitchell, 3AW radio host
'The advice from the [nearby] school community and the principal is that the number of syringes found in the area has significantly decreased since the time of the medically supervised injecting room'
James Merlino, acting premier and Victorian Education Minister
The issue at a glance
On March 25, 2021, the government of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) announced it was considering establishing a medically supervised drug injection room in Canberra. Community consultation will be undertaken before a decision is made.
Two days previously, on March 23, 2021, it was reported that a series of incidents, including the death of a drug-affected man outside a local primary school, had led to parents demanding that the Victorian Government relocate the North Richmond drug injecting centre.
Though the value of drug injecting centres is more generally accepted than when the first was set up in Kings Cross in 2001, the question of where they should be placed and what impact they have on surrounding communities remains hotly debated.