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Athens Municipality Rents House For Drug Addicts to Inject Under Supervision

In Greece 2012, research shows that drug addicts have to be on a waiting list for about 7-8 years until they can finally  manage to join a rehabilitation program.
But until then, some of them die or change their mind and stop waiting, or ignore the program. The center of Athens is full of drug addicts – buying and selling heroine and other drugs – and even injecting themselves in public view.
Instead of changing the way people get accepted by the rehab centers, Athens’ municipality decided to rent a house where users may be allowed to inject drugs under medical supervision.
They need money for clean syringes, which obviously they don’t have. This municipality project is believed to help the addicts in some way.
People in charge for this social project, which runs under the auspices of the Health Ministry, have already rented some rooms near Larissis Station in northern Athens. There’s also discussion over the possibility of renting another building, maybe on Athinon Avenue.
Similar projects have been undertaken by other countries to solve the problem of drug users injecting drugs out on the street.
Tasos Panopoulos, head of the rehabilitation agency OKANA, commented that “although the facilities of our agency have been transferred to public hospitals, the problem did not disappear.”
Except for medical advice on safe injecting, drug addicts will also have the opportunity to find some food and a place to shower in the municipality’s rooms.
About 100 users are expected to attend these places. Officials of this project hope to encourage drug addicts to join a rehab program, despite the long wait.

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