Cities planning supervised drug injection sites fear Justice Department reaction
Harm reduction advocates hope supervised injection sites can follow the path of needle exchange programs which have gained wider acceptance over the years
Thursday, July 12, 2018
In parts of the country hit hard by addiction, some public health officials are considering running sites where people can use heroin and other illegal drugs under medical supervision. Advocates say supervised injection sites save lives that would otherwise be lost to overdoses and provide a bridge to treatment. There are at least 13 efforts underway in U.S. cities and states to start an official supervised injection site. But many safe injection site proposals seem to be waylaid in community debate and legal uncertainty. Officials with the Justice Department offer a statement issued late last year by a U.S. attorney in Vermont saying health workers at a supervised injection site would be vulnerable to criminal charges and the property could be at risk of being seized by federal law enforcement.
