CALIFORNIA NODDING –
April 22, 2021 – Supervised injection sites have emerged around the world in recent years, part of a movement to rethink treatment for people addicted to powerful opioids — including heroin, fentanyl and some prescription pain killers.
People get very sick when they try to stop taking the drugs, making it hard to stop using them. Overdose deaths have surged nationwide in recent years, prompting debates in state Legislatures about how best to tackle a problem that is rooted in public health and public safety.
These sites are legal in Canada, but illegal in the U.S. The former Trump administration sued to block a proposed injection site in Philadelphia and a federal appeals court sided with the government in January. But supporters are appealing that decision, hoping President Joe Biden’s administration might drop the lawsuit.
“Unlike the Trump administration, President Biden takes a science-based approach to addiction,” said state Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat from San Francisco who authored the California legislation. “We hope the administration will allow states to pilot evidence-based strategies like safe consumption sites.”
