DrugRehab.com provides information regarding illicit and prescription drug
addiction, the various populations at risk for the disease, current statistics and trends, and
psychological disorders that often accompany addiction. You will also find information on spotting
the signs and symptoms of substance use and hotlines for immediate assistance.
Treatment for addiction takes many forms and depends on the needs of the individual.
In accordance with the American Society of Addiction Medicine, we offer information on
outcome-oriented treatment that adheres to an established continuum of care. In this section, you
will find information and resources related to evidence-based treatment models, counseling and
therapy and payment and insurance options.
Treatment for addiction takes many forms and depends on the needs of the
individual. In accordance with the American Society of Addiction Medicine, we offer
information on outcome-oriented treatment that adheres to an established continuum of
care. In this section, you will find information and resources related to evidence-based
treatment models, counseling and therapy and payment and insurance options.
The recovery process doesn't end after 90 days of treatment. The transition back to
life outside of rehab is fraught with the potential for relapse. Aftercare resources such as
12-step groups, sober living homes and support for family and friends promote a life rich with
rewarding relationships and meaning.
Our community offers unique perspectives on lifelong recovery and substance use
prevention, empowering others through stories of strength and courage. From people in active
recovery to advocates who have lost loved ones to the devastating disease of addiction, our
community understands the struggle and provides guidance born of personal experience.
Intravenous drug use, and heroin abuse in particular, has been a major public health concern in Washington state for roughly thirty years. It’s a deep-rooted, serious problem that has recently gained attention in other parts of the United States.
Washington is ahead of the rest of the country in adopting aggressive public health policies that can save the lives of drug users and reduce the harm they might suffer. The state is a national leader in needle exchanges and safe injection sites.
The most dangerous and addictive drugs — methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin and other opioids — can be injected. Intravenous drug users inject a drug directly into their bloodstream using hypodermic needles. This method is also called shooting up or mainlining.
IV consumption is a popular method of drug use because it is more efficient than the other methods. When injected, drugs in a user’s bloodstream will reach their brain within minutes. But if they consume a drug that is too strong, there is little warning. They can die within minutes.
Most IV drug users in King County use heroin. Around half of Seattle-area heroin users regularly injected heroin in 2015, according to the University of Washington’s Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute.
Why Heroin Overdoses Are Increasing in Washington
Heroin injectors face specific dangers. Sometimes it’s cut with thickeners such as laundry detergent or flour. If producers cut the drug, they can make more money. That practice endangers IV drug users. If they inject heroin that’s stronger than usual, they increase their risk of overdose.
Fentanyl is a common heroin mixer. It’s an opioid that’s even more powerful than heroin, but it lasts for a shorter period of time.
Fentanyl overdose has become a risk for Northwest IV heroin users. Fentanyl first caused a rash of overdoses in the western U.S. in 2006, after a Mexican cartel mixed the drug with heroin. Washington first responders and public health officials began to worry about fentanyl again in late 2016.
Seattle police suspect fentanyl could be a cause of four overdoses that occurred on Jan. 8, 2017, according to the Seattle Times. That day, four people overdosed on heroin along Seattle’s Aurora Avenue North within hours of each other. Three died, and one went to the hospital.
Needle Exchanges and Safe Injection Sites in Washington
Needle exchanges and safe injection sites can reduce some of the danger faced by IV drug users. The sites allow IV drug users to trade used, dirty hypodermics for new, clean needles without charge. IV drug users are at less risk of spreading blood-borne illnesses if they can use their own clean needle, instead of borrowing one from a fellow user.
Tacoma hosts the United States’ oldest continuously operating needle exchange program, the Tacoma Syringe Program. TSP began operations in 1988. Eighteen other needle exchange programs operate in 15 counties across the state. Needle exchanges are different from safe injection sites.
Safe injection sites are facilities where IV drug use is supervised by medical professionals. These professionals can intervene in the event of an overdose. In a safe injection site, users who pass out or overdose are safe from the sexual and physical assault, theft and harassment that they could experience in the world at large. Site staff can also refer users to medical treatment, including drug rehabilitation.
In January 2017, Seattle became the first U.S. city to make plans to open a safe injection site. If Seattle’s plan goes ahead, the city will open one injection site in the city limits and another in a nearby suburb with help from the King County health department.
Criticisms and Comparisons to Seattle’s Safe Injection Site
Seattle’s plan has prompted debate, some of it heartbreaking. Some state legislators from outside Seattle are against the idea. They introduced a bill to ban safe injection sites. A former King County prosecutor whose son died from a heroin overdose wrote an emotional, powerful op-ed in the Seattle Times in opposition to the plan. Others responded in favor of safe injection sites.
Clearly, the debate about injection sites causes strong feelings. However, the available data on the issue shows that injection sites have a number of public health benefits in their surrounding neighborhoods.
Injection sites reduce transmission of blood-borne disease among IV users, particularly HIV/AIDS, according to a review conducted by the National Academies of Sciences.
They also reduce overdose deaths in their neighborhood, per a 2011 Lancet study.
Injection site clients are more careful about disposing of their needles safely than other drug users, according to anecdotal reports from facilities.
Seattle’s injection site advocates often cite Vancouver, Canada’s operational injection site as an example worthy of imitation. Vancouver’s injection site, called Insite, opened in 2003. Insite was the first safe injection site in North America.
Vancouver’s experience with Insite is the closest example for Seattleites to study. While Insite is still controversial in Canada, it has been praised by international and public health officials in British Columbia. It seems to have made a positive impact on its neighborhood, and it has not caused drug use to increase in the area, according to news reports.
Safe injection sites haven’t solved Vancouver’s IV drug crisis, but they have prevented a lot of needless death and misery. They can also put drug users in contact with counselors, health care workers, and other caring, sober people who can help them get on a much-needed path to recovery.
People who use needle exchanges or safe injection sites aren’t required to seek testing or treatment. However, the sites educate them about the risks of drug use and the benefits of getting tested for disease. Medical professionals in Washington hope to build relationships with IV users and convince them to seek treatment.
Medical Disclaimer: DrugRehab.com aims to improve the quality of life for people struggling with a substance use or mental health disorder with fact-based content about the nature of behavioral health conditions, treatment options and their related outcomes. We publish material that is researched, cited, edited and reviewed by licensed medical professionals. The information we provide is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. It should not be used in place of the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2015, October 26). Increases in Fentanyl Drug Confiscations and Fentanyl-related Overdose Fatalities. Retrieved from https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/han00384.asp
Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. (2006). Preventing HIV Infection Among Injecting Drug Users in High Risk Countries: An Assessment of the Evidence. Retrieved from https://www.nap.edu/read/11731/chapter/2
Valente, T.W. et al. (2001, June). Needle-exchange Participation, Effectiveness, and Policy: Syringe Relay, Gender, and the Paradox of Public Health. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3456352/
Calls will be answered by a qualified admissions representative with Advanced Recovery Systems (ARS), the owners of DrugRehab.com. We look forward to helping you!
Phone calls to treatment center listings not associated with ARS will go directly to those centers. DrugRehab.com and ARS are not responsible for those calls.