Introduction
In this modern world drug is not an unfamiliar word. Drug and its usage is spread all over the world. It is an uncontrollable mischance that has captured the entire world. Number of people who become addicted to the drug is increasing year by year. Lion part of the drug users uses injection method for their drugging. It is not a safe method. There is a possibility for reuse of the syringes. It invites many serious diseases like AIDS. To avoid the problems related to drug injecting, in 2003 Canada introduced new technique. This technique is propounded and tested by “Insite, which is the first legal, supervised injection facility (SIF). According to a report from CMAJ “The goals associated with the establishment of safe injection facilities are to reduce the incidence of blood-borne disease transmission, overdoses and public nuisance associated with injection drug use; to improve the general health of IDUs; and to increase their use of appropriate primary health care and social services.” (Kerr and Palepu, 2001). This facility is used in some other countries like Switzerland, Australia and Spain. In SIF drug users inject the drug under the supervision of the medical staff. In this report, the various sociological aspects of this system are examined.
Some sociological concepts related to drug abuse and SIF
Sociological Imagination and SIF:- Social control theory is used to stop or get back the people from the activities which are harmful for the society or which will deviate the nature of the society. From this theory itself Hirschi mentioned that drug abuse has harmful consequences in the society. (Alston, Harley and Lenhoff, 1995, p.1).
It leads to many problems like loss of social values, ethics and morality. According to Hirschi “deviant behavior such as alcohol and drug abuse are less appealing to individuals with strong commitments.” (Alston, Harley and Lenhoff, 1995, p.1).
Through Safe Injection Facility, usages of overdose drugs can be avoided and it will help to avoid the spreading of the harmful diseases in the society through the drug usage. So SIF is an indirect social control against the overdose usage of the drugs.
Harm Reduction and SIF:-Harm reduction means reduce the potential hazards due to the drug use. Actually harm reduction is a drug education. It helps to reduce the drug-related problems. (Duncan, et al, n.d). But Safe Injection Facility is a kind of harm reduction. That is SIF focuses to prevent the overdose usage of drugs. So SIF reduces the harm by the abuse of the drugs. Major harms related to the drug use are social problems, health problems and drug usage will destroy the culture and morality of the society. Anyone cannot fully control the usage of the drugs. So Supervised Injection Facility is the practicable method to reduce the effect of drugs in the society.
Public Health and SIF:- Drug abuse is very dangerous for the public health. Drug abuse is a reason for the breakdown in rituals. It badly affects the community. Drug abuse also affects the public’s mental health. According to public health theory “the risks associated with drug use are largely matters of disturbances in social control and the health behavior of individuals and social (risk) groups.” (Kaplan, n.d).
This theory and harm reduction are closely related. Both are focused on the drug abuse. SIF is a common solution for this problem. Through SIF a drug user will use a limited amount of drugs. So it will reduce the aftereffect of the drug. HIV is the major epidemic caused by the injection of drugs. It dangerously affects the public health.
Criminal Justice system and SIF: Even though the idea is gaining wider acceptability in modern thinking, the legal obstacles are not yet clear for this concept. For example, in United States although states and some municipalities have the power to authorize SIFs, the legal environment permits Federal authorities to interference with these facilities under the Controlled Substance Act. This system can work only if the state or the Municipal authority can proceed free of legal uncertainty without the fear of interference from the Federal Authorities. Here also the various angle related to drug abuse also have to be taken into consideration by accepting the fact that Safe Injection Facilities have shown promise in reducing social cost and harm related to drug abuse. (Beletsky, 2008, p.231-237). With the ongoing legal uncertainty in this area it is advisable to give importance to the study of other methods of sustained health research, strategic advocacy and political deliberation in this field.
Merton’s Theory of Structural Strain: This theory propounds that worldly success, especially material wealth has become almost synonymous with the cultural goal in our society. Worldly success is achieved by means of good education and highly paid jobs. In other words, these are the institutionalized and approved means of achieving worldly success. The social problem lies in the fact that the poor and minorities in the society are often handicapped by little formal education and few economical resources to achieve these goals of material success. The absence of institutionalized means of success leads them to the path of unconventional means of doing things, like resorting to crime, and drug use. Here in this context, we can say that Safe Injection Facilities will help these underprivileged in the society in a long way to find a temporary solution to their problems without the major risk of infectious diseases. This is in no way supports the use of drug use in our society.
Stigma and SIF: – Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) is a disease. It is an effect of the chronic injection drug use. It affects the smooth functioning of the life. It leads to many problems in the life-like “reduced self-esteem, diminished mental health, less access to medical care, and fear of disclosing a positive status, with the latter often resulting in limited social support at a time when it is sorely needed.” (Twerell, Strauss & Plaza, 2006).
Same like Hepatitis C Virus, HIV is cause of stigma in the society. SIF helps to reduce the stigma related to the drug abuse diseases. This report early mentioned that SIF is works under the supervision of medical staff. Major reason for spreading HIV is sharing syringes. By SIF technique there is comparatively less chance for the reusing of the syringes and sharing one syringe by more than one person. It reduces the chance of spreading the diseases like HIV through syringes.
Conclusion
Safe Injection Facilities are appropriate response to some of the problems associated with chronic injection use in the society. Chronic injection use related to drugs is deep-rooted in the society. No one can fully stop this tendency from the society. Only one solution is minimizing the impact of the chronic injection. Supervised Injection Facility is the best method for that. Through SIF the sharing of the syringes and the overdose drug usage can be prevented. But it is not a complete solution for the whole problem. It is a solution for some of the problems related to drug use by chronic injection.
References
Alston, Reginald., Harley, Debra., & Lenhoff, Karen. (1995). Hirschi’s social control theory: A sociological perspective on drug among persons with disabilities. Journal of Rehabilitation, 1. Web.
Beletsky, Leo. (2008). The law and politics of safe injection facilities in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 98 (2), 231-237. Web.
Duncan, David. F., et al. (n.d.). Harm reduction: An emerging new paradigm for drug education. Schaffer Library of Drug Policy. 2009. Web.
Kaplan, Charles. D. (n.d.). Dear Adele Van Der Plas, Esq. 2009. Web.
Kerr, Thomas., and Palepu, Anita. (2001). Safe injection facilities in Canada: Is it time. Canadian Medical Association, 165 (4). Web.
Twerell, Janette, Astona., Strauss, Shiela. M., & Plaza, Corrine Munoz. (2006). Stigma: Hepatitis B and drug abuse. HCV Advocate. Web.