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Denver has just become one of the major US cities to take the first steps in establishing a supervised medical drug-use site, hoping to reduce the number of overdose deaths.
On Monday, the capital of Colorado traveled to New York, Seattle, Philadelphia and San Francisco with a lot of motivation – but no sure way – to make these so-called "secure injection" facilities a reality. The city council voted in favor of a plan authorizing a supervised injection site with clean needles, overdose prevention, mental health services and social services. The Ministry of Justice, which had not responded to a request for comment, had already committed to close these sites and threatened to arrest potential operators.
Driven in part by dangerous synthetic opioids like fentanyl, hard to detect, more than 70,000 Americans died of a drug overdose last year. Lawyers and drug policy experts argue that if drug users had access to nearby medical staff at a secure injection site, fewer people would die.
"We need to get away from the idea that it's just these homeless lunatics who take these drugs. You will see costumes enter the needle exchange. It's a crisis. Our President has said, every governor and mayor said so, "said Albus Brooks, a city council member from the city of Denver, who sponsored the ordinance. "Now is the time to start implementing innovative practices that have worked."
If Denver wants to open a complete site that will not immediately be shut down, city officials will need the approval of the state legislature, which Democrats will control next year, to grant immunity in the city. Earlier this year, a similar bipartisan proposal to allow a secure pilot injection site in the city failed in the Republican-controlled state Senate.
Ten countries around the world, including Canada, Australia and Norway, already have secure injection sites. But in the United States, the so-called "crack house" status of the Controlled Substances Act, which prohibits people from visiting facilities for the use or distribution of drugs, makes them completely illegal. . However, many places are already violating the Controlled Substances Act by allowing marijuana for recreational purposes. Under federal law, for example, grass is illegal, but 10 states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for recreational purposes and allow residents to transport and sell the drug in certain quantities.
"You are going to see costumes enter the needle exchange – it's a crisis."
This does not mean that the prospect of angering the federal government does not intimidate city officials. At the end of September, California Governor Jerry Brown vetoed a bill that would allow for the installation of a single secure injection site in San Francisco, with the support of the city and from his mayor. Seattle stalled on its secure injection site following a community protest. Although Philadelphia has proposed a solution for a privately funded site, called "Safehouse", it is unclear when or how this facility will take off. Meanwhile, New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio has proposed a way to open four pilot sites around the city, although they need departmental approval of state health headed by Governor Andrew Cuomo before going forward.
Denver has just become one of the major US cities to take the first steps in establishing a supervised medical drug-use site, hoping to reduce the number of overdose deaths. On Monday, the capital of Colorado traveled to New York, Seattle, Philadelphia and San Francisco with a lot of motivation – but no sure way – to make these so-called "secure injection" facilities a reality. The city council voted in favor of a plan authorizing a supervised injection site with clean needles, overdose prevention, mental health services and social services. The Ministry of Justice, which had not responded to a request for comment, had already committed to close these sites and threatened to arrest potential operators.
Driven in part by dangerous synthetic opioids like fentanyl, hard to detect, more than 70,000 Americans died of a drug overdose last year. Lawyers and drug policy experts argue that if drug users had access to nearby medical staff at a secure injection site, fewer people would die. "We need to get away from the idea that it's just these homeless lunatics who take these drugs. You will see costumes enter the needle exchange. It's a crisis. Our President has said, every governor and mayor said so, "said Albus Brooks, a city council member from the city of Denver, who sponsored the ordinance. "Now is the time to start implementing innovative practices that have worked."
If Denver wants to open a complete site that will not immediately be shut down, city officials will need the approval of the state legislature, which Democrats will control next year, to grant immunity in the city. Earlier this year, a similar bipartisan proposal to allow a secure pilot injection site in the city failed in the Republican-controlled state Senate. Ten countries around the world, including Canada, Australia and Norway, already have secure injection sites. But in the United States, the so-called "crack house" status of the Controlled Substances Act, which prohibits people from visiting facilities for the use or distribution of drugs, makes them completely illegal. . However, many places are already violating the Controlled Substances Act by allowing marijuana for recreational purposes. Under federal law, for example, grass is illegal, but 10 states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for recreational purposes and allow residents to transport and sell the drug in certain quantities.
"You are going to see costumes enter the needle exchange – it's a crisis."
This does not mean that the prospect of angering the federal government does not intimidate city officials. At the end of September, California Governor Jerry Brown vetoed a bill that would allow for the installation of a single secure injection site in San Francisco, with the support of the city and from his mayor. Seattle stalled on its secure injection site because of a community protest. Although Philadelphia has proposed a solution for a privately funded site, called "Safehouse", it is unclear when or how this facility will take off. Meanwhile, New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio has proposed a way to open four pilot sites around the city, although they need departmental approval of state health headed by Governor Andrew Cuomo before going forward.
But if Denver wants to work to limit overdoses and deaths, the city must at least try a safe injection site, according to Art Way, state director for the Drug Policy Alliance in Colorado. He is hopeful that the state will support the efforts of the city.
"You must have a safe use site as part of your overall overdose strategy," Way said. "You put people in a place that tells them you're welcome here, your life is precious." The legal issues that many municipal officials may have little to do. Former governor of Pennsylvania, Ed Rendell, sits on the board of directors of the non-profit association to take the Philadelphia facility off the ground. In October, he told VICE News that he was in danger of being arrested as mayor of Philadelphia in the early 1990s when he approved a clean needle exchange site called Prevention Point – but nothing has finally arrived.
"Why would anyone want to stop a group of doctors, nurses and board members who are not paid with a worthy goal?" Said Rendell. "For 26 years, Prevention Point has been technically violating federal law and no one has told them to be booed."
Opponents of these sites also argued that there was little evidence to support the advocates' contention that secure injection sites would reduce the number of overdose deaths. This is not true, according to Brooks, although he needs more research.
In 2014, for example, researchers published a review of 75 studies of supervised injection sites, which revealed a correlation with safer drug use with no apparent increase in crime or dangerous drug use. . On the other hand, site critics repeatedly cite a September 2018 study that the evidence supporting the sites was not strong enough to demonstrate a positive effect on overdose deaths. This study has since been withdrawn for methodological reasons.
Cover Image: Linda Montel shows supplies on a check-in counter at Safer Inside, a realistic model of a supervised injection site in San Francisco, California on August 29, 2018. (AP Photo / Eric Risberg , File)
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