Philadelphia aims to become first US city to legalize safe injection sites
The idea comes as a paradigm shift in the nation’s effort to stem the tide of opioid-related deaths
Tuesday, February 6, 2018
Philadelphia officials are pushing an effort to make the city the first in the U.S. to allow drug users to shoot up at a medically supervised facility. The city overdose-related deaths peaked last year to about 1,200. City health officials want to cut down on the overdoses and deaths through this unique – and controversial – approach. “We haven’t seen a public health emergency like this in the last century,” said Thomas Farley, Health Commissioner for Philadelphia. “It’s time for us to rethink our assumptions, and consider options we hadn’t seen before." Unlike similar efforts by other cities, the injection sites would not need City Council approval because they would be privately run. (See also: SF safe injection sites expected to be first in nation, open around July 1)
