Have questions about HB 519, the safe consumption bill we're supporting on Lobby Day? Learn more here.

HB 519, or the Overdose and Infectious Disease Prevention Safer Drug Consumption Facility Program, would allow community-based organizations to establish sites for the safe consumption of drugs in a controlled environment.

Our own Nilesh Kalyanaraman and Terry Clark testified on Tuesday, February 21, on HB 519 before the Maryland House of Delegates' Committee on Health and Government Operations. 

Read Dr. K's testtimony here.

Watch a video of Dr. K on HB 519 here.

Key arguments for HB 519

• Drug use is happening. So, how do we address that in a way that people don’t die, while connecting them to much-needed services?
• As with needle exchange programs, research shows definitivley that safe consumption sites help reduce harm to users and others.
• Maryland is in an opioid crisis: The total number of overdose deaths has risen steadily in the state since 2010, mainly due to the increase in heroin-related deaths.

Key arguments against HB 519

• It communicates that drug use is OK—and even encourages it.
  
  • Opponents of needle exchanges made the same case, and last year the General Assembly overwhelmingly passed and the governor signed into law a bill authorizing local health departments and community-based organizations to establish sterile syringe exchange programs with approval from the state’s Department of Health & Mental Hygiene.
• Providing those suffering from addiction with a place and tools to keep using heroin is reckless. Unconscionable.
• There are provisions in that would give health care practitioners immunity from prosecution for providing the treatment described in the bills.

Why does Health Care for the Homeless support HB 519?

• For decades, our policies have taken a zero-tolerance approach to drug use, shaming drug users and excluding them from much needed care.
• Meantime, drug use has increased.
• At Health Care for the Homeless, we support and advocate for harm reduction policies that prioritize the health of all our neighbors—including those suffering from opioid addiction.
• Safe consumption sites are proven to improve health outcomes by drastically reducing the spread of infectious diseases, including HIV and Hepatitis C, helping drug users receive addiction treatment and preventing drug overdose and death.

OK, so in a nutshell, we need safe consumption sites because:

• They reduce disease transmission and save lives by preventing overdose
• They provide sterile equipment and trained medical staff to oversee drug use
• They connect drug users with needed services like addiction counseling
• They save money and resources by reducing use of emergency medical services
• They already exist in  65+ cities around the world