Injection rooms approved, but advocates wonder what’s next

Funding and legal concerns remain after government agrees to open safe place for addicts to inject

 

The thirty-five year fight to establish permanent injection rooms for drug addicts is now over after the government announced last week that such facilities would be up and running by 2013.

But long-time campaigners are bracing themselves for news on the guidelines for how the rooms are to be run. In the next few days the government will present a catalogue outlining the current drug legislation and amendments that will need to be made in order for injection rooms to become legal.

 The proposal has met resistance from the right, which calls the issue is a “legal gray area”.

“If you stand with authorised personal in an injection room itÂ’s legal to take the drugs, but if you get stopped by police five feet from the door possessing the drugs then itÂ’s not legal,” Venstre spokesperson Kristian Jensen told Politiken. “So how should the police act and where should the buffer zone lie?”

According to Michael Lodberg Olsen, a long-time injection room campaigner, “there’s nothing in the law that says injection rooms are not legal”.

It was under this premise that Olsen this autumn set up a mobile injection room as an interim solution until the permanent rooms are in place. “Of course we’re happy that rooms will be up and running by 2013 but it shouldn’t have to take that long.”

Olsen says delaying the opening of the rooms until 2013 will cost 350 addicts their lives. He has written to the health minister suggesting a remedy to address the waiting time. “We have asked for more money to set up a second mobile room. We have had the actual van donated by Falck but we need money for ongoing costs.”

Despite the delay Olsen was positive over the government’s attitude towards addicts. “This government genuinely cares about the welfare of drug addicts and they’re proving this by trying new things.”

So far, plans are underway to have at least one room in Vesterbro, one in Amager and one in the Nordvest district. The city of Odense also has a room ready to go and is waiting for final approval.

How the rooms will be funded has yet to be established. An estimated 60 million kroner will be necessary to establish CopenhagenÂ’s injection rooms. The state is putting pressure on greater Copenhagen local councils to foot the bill, while they say the service is something the state should fund.

Join the debate – join us on Twitter or Facebook, or leave a comment below.

 

TOP STORIES

  • Danish offshore wind expansion may fail due to limited port capacity

    Danish offshore wind expansion may fail due to limited port capacity

    Given the present size and capacity of Danish ports, Denmark’s ambitions to expand its offshore wind installations and maintain a position as a world-leader in wind energy may prove impossible to achieve.

  • ‘Take the Money and Run’ artist settles out of court with Danish museum for undisclosed sum

    ‘Take the Money and Run’ artist settles out of court with Danish museum for undisclosed sum

    In 2021, the artist Jens Haaning’s artwork ‘Take the Money and Run’ saw him borrow half a million kroner in cash from Kunsten Museum of Modern Art in Aalborg for a visual representation of European salaries, and instead supply two empty frames for exhibition. After Haaning refused to pay it back and the museum launched a legal case, the two have now settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.

  • Slovakian PM shot, in critical condition

    Slovakian PM shot, in critical condition

    The Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico is in a critical state after being shot five times as he left a government meeting today. A white male attacker was apprehended by police at the scene. Fico has been flown by helicopter to Banská Bystrica hospital for emergency care. Danish PM Mette Frederiksen calls it an “attack on democracy”.

  • Copenhagen Airport is transforming with new flight routes, shops and facilities

    Copenhagen Airport is transforming with new flight routes, shops and facilities

    Copenhagen Airport saw 5.8 million travellers in the first quarter – 11 percent more than the same period last year. With new summer flight routes, shops and top-end facilities, and as long-haul passengers soar, it is transforming into more than a destination airport – it is becoming a major transfer hub.

  • Tourists are using Instagram to plan their Copenhagen holidays

    Tourists are using Instagram to plan their Copenhagen holidays

    The tourism industry leans heavily on social media to attract travellers. Copenhagen is a popular destination and many of it’s spots have gone viral online.

  • EU decision sets Danish hotels free

    EU decision sets Danish hotels free

    The EU Commission has decided in favor of hotels’ right to give the consumer a lower price if they book outside a booking platform. A ruling long awaited by the hotels

Connect club

Connect Club is your gateway to a vibrant programme of events and an international community in Denmark.

Sign up here

Career

Want to advertise your job with CPH Post?

Contact us

Jobs