Desperate cities consider 'safe injection' sites for opioid users
Philadelphia may be unusually well-positioned to be the first; its opioid crisis is mostly concentrated in one neighborhood
Wednesday, January 10, 2018
Philadelphia officials are advocating to become the first in the U.S. city to open a supervised injection site, where people suffering from heroin or opioid addiction could use under medical supervision. But the controversial proposal aimed at addressing the city's deadly drug crisis must first overcome resistance from top city police officials, community residents and the federal government. Advocates say the goal is to provide a bridge to treatment. There are about 90 such official facilities around the world. Though some U.S. cities — including Seattle, San Francisco and Denver — are talking about establishing this sort of city-sponsored site, there are none in the United States. (See also: Philadelphia pushes forward with creating drug safe-injection sites as part of fight against opioid crisis)
