Addicts in Greece may now use illegal drugs safely in the country's first "Drug Consumption Centre," reports Reuters. The move is done not to encourage use of prohibited drugs, but to contain the spread of infectious diseases among addicts in the country.

Suffering from an economic crisis, Greece has cut health care spending as part of the government's austerity measures, a move prescribed by international lenders helping to keep the Hellenic Republic survive financially. As a result, the already impoverished 25,000 drug users in the nation are placed at higher risk for a number of deadly diseases resulting from drug use.

The six-year recession has hit the country so badly that unemployment has continuously increased, and is now over 27%. The adverse economic impact has affected mostly young people who are vulnerable to the lure of illegal substances.

OKANA, the country's Organization Against Drugs, has reported that during the peak of the crisis between 2011- 2012, HIV infections among drug addicts increased at an alarming rate. Needle-sharing is the primary cause of exposure. HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C are the 3 major illnesses that results from such a practice, according to SOLAR News.

Greece is the latest country to set up a "Drug Consumption Centre" project, following behind Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Luxembourg, Norway, Canada and Australia, reports The Economic Times.

OKANA Head Sakis Papaconstantinou says that since their setup in October, over 200 addicts have used the facility. Addicts bring their own drugs, and the staff helps them administer the drugs accurately and safely. Papaconstantinou confides, "Demand is increasing day after day and we believe that very soon we may need more facilities in other parts of the city," according to Reuters. Apart from containing the spread of infection, drug consumption rooms (DCRs) also prevent addicts from taking their drugs at a deadly overdose.

On their website, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) defines 'Drug Consumption Rooms (DCRs)' as "professionally supervised healthcare facilities where drug users can use drugs in safer and more hygienic conditions." It is also disclosed that over 90 DCRs have been set up in several countries, despite the controversy it brings.