Melanie MacLennan Interviewed on WBAI by The Indypendent

In an attempt to curb a surge in overdose deaths caused by increasingly potent street drugs, NYC is authorizing two supervised injection sites in East Harlem and Washington heights. Trained staff at the two sites will provide clean needles, administer naloxone to reverse overdoses and provide users with options for addiction treatment. Users will bring their own drugs. New York will become the first U.S. city to open officially authorized injection sites. We don’t know all the details on these sites or how they will operate, but they are a part of an approach to addiction called “harm reduction.” Melanie MacLennan, an NYC-based substance abuse doctor, talks with us about harm reduction, safer use of drugs and what safe injection site can mean to a community.