Community attitudes towards harm reduction services and a newly established needle and syringe automatic dispensing machine in an inner-city area of Sydney, Australia

The impact of an automatic syringe dispensing machine in inner‐city Sydney, Australia: No evidence of a ‘honey‐pot’ effect

“…Community opposition poses a serious threat to NSPs and thus needs to be managed. Research from the US has indicated community consultation needs to be tailored and that there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach .…”

“…Despite enhancing access and potential cost‐benefits, the implementation of ADMs has not been widespread; to date, approximately 150 machines are operating Australia‐wide. In some instances, ADM implementation has been met with community concern , often mimicking that seen regarding other harm reduction services elsewhere . Such concerns centre on the perceived potential for increased crime and drug use, a potential ‘honey‐pot effect’ and that children would be able to access the machine .…”

“…In some instances, ADM implementation has been met with community concern , often mimicking that seen regarding other harm reduction services elsewhere . Such concerns centre on the perceived potential for increased crime and drug use, a potential ‘honey‐pot effect’ and that children would be able to access the machine . The ‘honey‐pot’ effect is the attraction of groups of people to a desirable location, in this instance, an ADM potentially attracting non‐resident drug users into a community they would not otherwise have visited, thus increasing drug‐related activity.…”

Authoritarianism, attitudes toward harm reduction and the stigmatisation of people who use drugs

“…Despite the benefits of NEPs, these programmes are often met with public opposition. Some common misperceptions of NEPs include beliefs that crime will increase, that they enable or increase drug use, that they will attract more people who use drugs (PWUDs), or that individuals will be exposed to used syringes [6]. The degree of support for harm reduction programmes varies from nation to nation and regionally within countries.…”

Addressing the problem of sterile drug injecting supply acquisition for people who inject drugs.

“…Australians (White, Haber, & Day, 2016), and PWID report positive experiences with them in the country of Georgia (Otiashvili et al, 2019). There is some evidence that syringe vending machines reach PWID who would otherwise not access any type of harm reduction program (Islam & Conigrave, 2007 (Islam & Conigrave, 2007;Strike & Miskovic, 2018).…”