The possibility of safe injection sites in Boston

By Ella Hamilton

At his first State of the Union address, President Joe Biden addressed the overdose epidemic, calling for an “investment of $10.7 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to fund research, prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery support services,” according to the White House. Biden’s push to control the drug problem could be revolutionary for opening safe injection sites across the country.

Safe injection sites are medically supervised facilities in which illegal drug users can administer opioids under trained professionals with the purpose of preventing overdoses. The supervisors do not administer or handle any drugs; however, they may provide clean syringes and substances that can stop an overdose from killing the user.

Discussion of safe injection sites have run their way through American headlines for years, but the first official supervised facility has recently opened its doors in New York City. Now, the proposition of injection sites in major cities like Boston is under consideration following NYC's seeming success.

During the 2021 mayoral race, Michelle Wu said that it was dire for the city to act against the opiate crisis and that she would support safe injection sites in Boston.

Since 2016, SIFMA Now has been fighting for “safe consumption sites” in Boston. Their organization is led by an array of figures including health professionals, drug users, lawyers and other community members. Now that there is seeming support from President Biden, the federal government and Mayor Michelle Wu, the organization is hopeful for the beginning of safe injection facilities in the Boston area.

The Center for Disease Control reported that opioid overdose deaths in the United States increased by nearly 20,000 from 2020 to 2021, in addition to Massachusets seeing its highest death rate by overdose since 2016.

NYC’s OnPoint facility in Harlem opened in late 2021, and within the first three weeks reported that the site prevented 59 possible overdoses and welcomed 2,000 drug users. However, NYC is not the first city to attempt opening an injection center.

Two years prior to NYC’s safe injection site grand opening, Philadelphia’s non-profit overdose prevention organization Safehouse was blocked by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. In the lawsuit, they stated that “Safehouse’s conduct is prohibited by federal law, without any relevant exception.”

The federal law, effective since 1971, is the Controlled Substances Act, which determines that it is unlawful to manage illegal substances. The legal action of the US court was under former President Donald Trump’s administration, yet NYC was able to open its safe injection site under the current president.

Many supporters of safe injection sites in the US point toward Canada as a model for its Supervised Consumption Sites. As of early 2020, Canada had 39 operating sites that had prevented around 15,000 overdoses between 2017 and 2019. Despite positive trends appearing at the centers in Canada, those against the opening of safe injection sites are warning against the possible dangers they can bring.

Deputy U.S. Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen wrote an opinion piece for The Philadelphia Inquirer criticizing the “trend” of safe injection sites in Canada. In support of medicated treatment for drug users, Rosen wrote that “in Philadelphia, the local police union echoed these concerns (that safe injection sites are dangerous), warning that an injection site would bring increased crime to their community, including violent crime among drug dealers seeking to protect their turf.”

The proposal of safe injection sites in major US cities has been met with legal action and heavy criticism, however, their implementation may speed up as opioid death rates rise. New leadership in the local and national governments points in the hopeful direction of safe injection sites to prevent the deaths of drug users. If the lives of those addicted are at stake, those in power should work toward the methods of assistance that are proven to be effective.