Oakland explores possibility of opening safe injection site
The city’s housing crisis has exacerbated the use of illicit drugs in public
Monday, May 13, 2019
Oakland officials are exploring building a safe injection site for illicit-drug users in hopes of lowering open-air drug use on city streets. Mayor Libby Schaaf and Councilwoman Nikki Fortunato Bas introduced a resolution to the City Council Thursday to support AB362, a state bill that would allow the city and county of San Francisco to operate a supervised center for drug users. The resolution also requests that the state bill be amended to include Oakland. A similar bill was vetoed by then-Gov. Jerry Brown in October. But Gov. Gavin Newsom has said he is receptive to the idea of a safe injection site, even though opening one would remain illegal under federal law.