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By Mandy Taheri
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America's first state-sanctioned overdose prevention center (OPC) held its ribbon cutting on Tuesday in Providence, Rhode Island, soon offering a medically supervised space for users of illegal drugs.
The facility is the first in the U.S. to be authorized and allocated funds under state law, following a 2021 Rhode Island law permitting the establishment of OPCs.
Often called harm reduction centers or safe consumption sites, among other names, OPCs provide a clean, controlled environment where medically trained staff supervise and monitor people using drugs to prevent overdose deaths. They may also provide recovery services including mental health services and substance abuse treatment.
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"The overdose prevention center will be regulated, licensed, and inspected by the Rhode Island Department of Health, similar to other medical facilities," Mandy Roman, director of development and communications at Project Weber/RENEW, the nonprofit opening the facility, said via email to Newsweek on Wednesday.
"We are also working in close communication with officials at all levels of government," Roman added. The nonprofit has two medical directors and will be partnering with VICTA outpatient clinic, she said.
The center will not operate on taxpayer dollars. "The majority of funds are coming from opioid settlement dollars, which were negotiated by RI's [Rhode Island's] attorney general from pharmaceutical companies as reparations for harm caused by prescription opioids," Roman told Newsweek. Private donations and grants also contribute to its funding.
In 2022, the state joined a national opioid settlement with three major opioid distributors, which provided "over $90 million in funding for state and local efforts to address Rhode Island's opioid crisis."
The center is not officially open as it awaits final licensing but is expected to begin service in a few weeks.
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A spokesperson for Rhode Island's Department of Health (RIDOH) told Newsweek in an email on Wednesday that the department "has worked with Project Weber/RENEW on the licensing process.
"The department requires a certificate of occupancy and a clearance certificate from the fire marshal before it can schedule a final walkthrough. That walkthrough will include a review of the site's final operating policies to insure that the policies meet State regulations and patient safety standards. Once they are in compliance, RIDOH will issue a license."
Newsweek has reached out to the Rhode Island governor and attorney general's offices via email on Wednesday.
In 2023, 404 people died from overdoses in Rhode Island, and 436 the year before. Nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 107,543 drug overdose deaths in 2023, with the majority related to fentanyl.
Harm reduction strategies have been central to combating the opioid epidemic. Naloxone distribution programs have reversed thousands of overdoses, while needle exchange initiatives have curbed the spread of infectious diseases like HIV and hepatitis C.
Two OPCs have been operating in New York City since 2021 with city support but without state approval, unlike the Providence center, which has state authorization. Worldwide, there are around 200 OPCs in 14 countries.
Project Weber/RENEW's executive director, Colleen Daley Ndoye, said in a statement obtained by Newsweek that the "new overdose prevention center is dedicated to saving lives through evidence-based practices and compassionate care. We are deeply grateful for the collaboration with our state government partners, which enables us to deliver this critical, lifesaving support to Rhode Islanders."
Safe consumption facilities are controversial, with critics arguing they provide easy access to illegal drugs and may encourage usage and increase crime.
A cohort of Brown University researchers are set to evaluate the center and how it will "address the overdose crisis and impacts the local community." Brandon Marshall, professor of epidemiology at Brown who is leading the research team, said in a press release they will explore a lot of the questions raised by skeptics, such as how do the centers work, how are they integrated into communities and what is their effectiveness.
The researchers are also interested in examining the site's location, as it is in a "hospital district" near other care centers.
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