In response to the worrying upward trend in opioid overdoses, the Massachusetts Medical Society voted overwhelmingly in favor of opening supervised injection facilities throughout the state.

Shifting from outright prohibition and criminalization to a focus on life preservation, medical professionals in Massachusetts hope that this will turn the tide in the fight against the opioid epidemic.

Dr. Barbara Herbert, a Massachusetts addiction specialist who voted for the measure, toldNBC Boston:

"You have to stay alive to get better..."

(Photo: Insite/CTV News)

When liberals and progressives point to Portugal as a prime example of a successful shift in drug policy from blanket prohibition to overdose reduction, this is the kind of thing they mean.

In 2001, Portugal decriminalizedalldrugs, reallocating some of the billions of dollars they'd been spending fighting victimless crimes towards investing inhealth clinics, injection sites and other medical initiatives.

And guess what? In just 11 years, the drug use rate in Portugal fell from around 45% to well below 30%.

That's a glimpse of what might just happen in America if we decided to treat addiction like the public health crisis it is, and not a sign of criminality.

(Photo: Insite/Vancourier/Dan Toulgoet)

On this side of the Atlantic, Vancouver, British Columbia has been opening supervised injection sites across the city since 2003, and they've seen a similar drop in addiction rates. Since 2003, Vancouver has seen a 35 percent reduction in overdoses and, perhaps most importantly, a 30 percent increase in users seeking treatment.

So Massachusetts wants to follow something like the Vancouver model, but apply it in the suburban and rural areas in the western part of the state, where opioid abuse rates have been climbing steadily and emergency resources are especially scarce.

Dr. Barbara Herbert laid out the supervised injection site concept, saying:

"The idea that someone would show up and inject in front of me is not an appealing idea.

But the idea that they would go two blocks away and die is so much worse."

While the Medical Society's vote is a big step towards implementing supervised injection sites across the state, the plan still has to be passed into law by the state assembly. While that may be quite the uphill climb, at least the ball is already rolling.

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Massachusetts Medical Society Votes To Approve Opioid Injection Facilities - Konbini US