EDITORIAL
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF KARRIGAN MONK
MANAGING EDITOR LARISA KARR
NEWS EDITOR MAGGIE HADDOCK
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR KATIE DEVOE
ADF EDITOR SARAH SHADBURNE
OPINION EDITOR SAMANTHA SAVERY
SPORTS EDITOR EMILY SPIES
PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR BRYCE ALBERGHINI
SAFE INJECTION SITES NEEDED IN WESTERN NC
MULTIMEDIA EDITOR
SARAH FORSHEY
COPY DESK CHIEF REBECCA ANDREWS
ADVERTISING MANAGER KATIE RITCHIE
ADVERTISING MANAGER PHILLIP WYATT
DISTRIBUTION MANAGER ELIZABETH WALKER
FACULTY ADVISER MICHAEL GOUGE
The Blue Banner is UNC Asheville’s
student newspaper. We publish each
Tuesday except during summer
sessions, finals week and holiday
breaks. Our office is located in Karpen
Hall 019.
The Blue Banner \s a designated forum
for free speech and welcomes letters to
the editor, considering them on basis of
interest, space and timeliness. Letters
and articles should be emailed to the
editor-in-chief or the appropriate section
editor. Letters should include the writer's
name, year in school, and major or other
relationship to UNCA. Inclucfe a phone
number to aid in verification. All articles
are subject to editing.
With 42,000 opioid-re
lated deaths in 2016 ac
cording to the Centers for
Disease Control and Pre
vention, Americans ask
what can hnd should be
done to combat the opioid
crisis that does not seem to
be declining. Some United
States cities are finally be
ginning to look at the is
sue through the influence
of other countries who
face the same dilemma.
Nine countries, includ
ing Canada, have imple
mented ways to provide
safe, or supervised, injec
tion sites for users. These
locations provide a place
for those addicted to opi-
ods to use under the super
vision of trained medical
staff. These staff are able
to administer the life-sav
ing drug naloxone in the
event of an overdose in
addition to offering recov
ery program resources.
Furthermore, these fa
cilities provide clean nee
dles and properly dispose
used needles. This in turn
reduces the transmission
of intravenously transmit
ted diseases, such as HIV
and hepatitis.
According to The New
York Times, cities that
support these sites see
dramatically positive re
sults. No deaths have been
reported in any of the 90
locations worldwide and
the people using the sites
were more likely to seek
treatment. Unsurprisingly,
the U.S. is slow to catch
on to these benefits.
In the 1980s, Switzer
land opened up clinics for
heroin addicts and health
authorities were shocked
when a number of people
higher than the numbers
projected showed up to
the centers. As a result,
addiction in the country
dramatically decreased,
according to the Swiss
Federal Office of Public
Health. In 2016, France
opened up its first drug
room for addicts to inject
in in Paris.
While several U.S. cit
ies currently plan to open
these sites, including Phil
adelphia and San Fransis-
co, the Trump adminis
tration hopes to stop the
efforts through federal law
override, according to The
New York Times. But with
such astounding results,
there is hope the Ameri
can people will fight for
effective opioid treatment,
recovery and regulation
beyond alienation.
RETRACTIDN DN BRDWN HALL ARTICLE
The editorial board of The Blue Banner would like to apologize for the publishing of the
story on complaints of Brown Hall in last week's issue. As the student voice of UNC Asheville,
we strive to make all student voices heard, even if those voices are criticizing the university
itself. In our zealousness to make voices heard, we acted irresponsibly as journalists and por
trayed Brown Hall in an unfair manner. We did not give them an opportunity to comment on the
allegations against them and for that we humbly apologize. As such, we are retracting the in
formation and quotes in the article. We now understand that one cannot simply label something
as opinion and consider it exempt from fair and balanced reporting. Our deepest apologies to
anyone who may have been harmed in any way with the publication of this story.