Copenhagen’s drug injection rooms a success story, mayor says
Life has become easier and safer for drug addicts in the Danish capital since the introduction of the fixerum in 2012
Tuesday, June 13, 2017
The lives of drug addicts who overdose can often be saved, provided they are using a drug injection room, figures show. Since two fixerums were opened by the municipality of Copenhagen in 2012 in the face of considerable opposition, 643 people have been treated for overdoses without a single fatality. “This tells me there has been a crying need [for the fixerums]. And it has been right to find a new way for the many people living a chaotic existence on the street with little or no contact to the system,” said Jesper Christensen, the deputy mayor for social issues. “In just a single year we have concluded up to 2,500 advisory talks about health and social conditions with citizens living on the edge and often far from help, and there’s no doubt we have improved their prospects.”
