The Experiment Aiming To Keep Drug Users Alive By Helping Them Get High More Safely

As record numbers of people in the U.S. die from drug overdoses, communities are searching for tools to prevent them. A new program in Canada could serve as a model. Over the past few years, government-approved clinics have opened across the country, where people can use street drugs under medical supervision. If they overdose, they can get life-saving care immediately. Some doctors are even prescribing powerful opioids to patients to keep them from using street drugs that may be laced with deadly chemicals. It's a controversial program, and some in the medical community argue that it could encourage drug use. NPR's addiction correspondent Brian Mann visited some of those supervised injection sites in Ottawa, to see how the program is working. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

SUMMERS: They look like the kind of study desks you'd see in a library. But here, the people are injecting opioids and methamphetamines purchased from street dealers. A team watches them on closed circuit television.

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