California passes bill for safe injection sites in three cities in bid for most progressive drug policy in US

Safe injection sites for opioid users may soon be permitted in three California cities after the state’s senate passed a bill authorising their use for a pilot programme.

The new law would allow the city and county of Los Angeles, San Francisco and Oakland to operate sites at which users can inject their own drugs under the supervision of trained staff. Staff are trained to treat overdoses, test drugs and provide clean syringes.

The bill now goes to the desk of Governor Gavin Newsom, who has previously spoken in support of safe injection sites. If passed, California could become the leading state in the country for the progressive drug policy, which advocates say saves lives.

The push for safe injection sites comes amid a record number of overdose deaths across the US. More than 100,000 Americans died from an overdose in 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — the highest annual toll ever recorded. California alone saw around 10,000 overdose deaths.

Experts say an increase in the use of the synthetic opioid fentanyl is behind the increase, as well as the unique conditions that placed extra pressure on drug users during the coronavirus pandemic.

President Joe Biden’s drug czar, meanwhile, has signalled that the Biden administration may be open to supporting safe injection sites, and has advocated a drug policy focused on harm prevention.

There are only two such sites currently operating in the United States — both in New York City, which didn’t pass any state laws prior to opening them in November 2021. Rhode Island became the first state to legalise safe injection sites last year for a two-year pilot programme, but has yet to open any clinics.

California state senator Scott Wiener, who authored the new safe injection site bill, said in a statement provided to The Independent that the new programme was a “proven overdose death prevention strategy” that would help combat rising opioid deaths.

“Safe consumption sites are a proven model to help people avoid overdose deaths, reduce HIV and hepatitis transmission, reduce syringe litter, and help people access treatment,” Mr Wiener said in the statement.

“This legislation isn’t about whether we want people to use drugs. Rather, it’s an acknowledgment that people *are* using drugs, and our choice is whether we want to make every effort to help them survive and get healthy,” he added.

Republicans oppose the bill, arguing that it encourages illegal behaviour. California senate Republican Leader Scott Wilk called the bill “one of the most dangerous pieces of legislation” ever sent to the governor.

“Instead of focusing on a strategy to help people get their lives back, get off drugs and into treatment, California Democrats focus on giving people free needles and a safe place to shoot up,” said Mr Wilk said in a statement, according to the Sacramento Bee.

In New York, the operator of the nation’s first and only supervised consumption centre said in May that it had averted 314 drug overdoses in its first six months since opening in November 2021.

“Supervised safe consumption is a life-saving, medical intervention. Every person that walks through our doors has a story, someone that loves them and hopes for a life that is not defined by addiction or trauma. Every one of them deserves compassion and a chance at healing,” said Sam Rivera, OnPoint NYC’s Executive Director, in a statement.