French government’s  green light for a drug consumption room in Paris

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French government’s green light for a drug consumption room in Paris

14 February 2013

On February 5, 2013 French Prime Minister office told that the first drug consumption room will be established in Paris. This decision endorses a project led by humanitarian medical NGO Médecins du Monde (MdM) and care centre Gaïa (former MdM drop in centre and methadone mobile unit in Paris). Both civil society organizations have been working for years on this project on behalf on a 25 years commitment on Harm Reduction in France. A joint policy statement has been published in April 2012 announcing willingness to build a partnership in order to open a drug consumption room.

This policy statement was matching Paris City Council vote in October 2010 to open such facility in the capital city. Paris City fostered its commitment last December voting a grant to Gaïa in order to launch the process. Drug consumption room will be located closed to a street drug users spot and should operate by the end of the first 2013 semester.

This milestone paves the way for next step: using the first pilot drug consumption room operated by Gaïa as a practical field to train health and social professional as well as community workers in other places in the country. On the same time MdM and Gaïa wish to enhance the Harm Reduction framework with an up dated design for drug consumption rooms including routine services as drug analysis and behavioural interventions as education on risk linked to injection (so called “ERLI” program implemented in Paris since 2010).

Special events will be organized in Vilnius HRI conference on MdM booth.

Contact: olivier.maguet@medecinsdumonde.net

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