PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The city with the highest opioid death rate of any large city in the United States could soon become the location of the nation’s first supervised drug injection site. The vice president of Safehouse, a nonprofit that wants to open the first such site, said Thursday the group is in negotiations to sign a lease in Kensington, a neighborhood known as the center of the city’s opioid crisis.
Ronda Goldfein said Safehouse had considered more than two dozen locations around Philadelphia but found a property on Hilton Street. Goldfein said the goal is to open more sites throughout the city where people can use heroin, methamphetamine and other illegal drugs under medical supervision, with staffers able to intervene in case of an overdose.
Feds Announce Lawsuit To Stop Nation’s First Safe Injection Site From Being Opened In Philadelphia
The announcement comes a month after Philadelphia’s top federal prosecutor filed a suit to stop Safehouse from opening a site. The lawsuit pits U.S. Attorney William McSwain’s stance on safe injection sites against those of Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner and former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, who sits on Safehouse’s board. McSwain believes supporters should try to change the laws, not break them.
Krasner said McSwain is relying on the failed drug policies of the past.
Philadelphia has the highest opioid death rate of any large U.S. city, with more than 1,000 deaths per year. Kenney and others have come to support Safehouse’s plans. Goldfein said neighbors have been notified of the pending lease.
‘Drugged Driving’: Opioid Epidemic Presents Growing, Ever-Present Danger On The Roads
Rendell said Thursday that the owner of the Kensington property wished to remain anonymous. He spoke at a conference in Washington on addition and harm-reduction research. Radio station WHYY was first to report the latest developments.
Liberal sh*tholes displaying their finest abilities. Smh
I like it! Less spread of AIDS because they will use clean needles. Less syringes in the street. For that alone I like it, the fact that people can be saved if they OD is a bonus.
Neily Hoops and you sir….are a major troll!
David Kanko Why do you say that? Do you want syringes on your street? They are all over the place where I live now.
Neily Hoops enabling them will NOT prevent them from using in the streets. Wouldn’t that money be better spent on counseling, rehab etc then telling addicts hey, if you go here your drug supplies will be neat and clean AND in the event you OD we have protection for that too!!! It’s as enabling as enabling gets. Plain and simple. The only thing we aren’t supplying are the illegal drugs!
David Kanko At lesst the times they are in the center we know their needles and stuff will be thrown in a sharps container. At least we know they have have clean needles. There is no good answer to this, it is out of control.
Neily Hoops I can def agree with you in that. It is out of control.
Why not just make it legal. ??♀️??♀️
Fucking ridiculous…coddle the druggies some more why don’t we? Sets a great example for kids to know it’s ok to be a junkie since we supply shoot up centers. ?
Patrick Brennan it’s not coddling. I rather safe havens vs getting a phone call of a loved one dead in an alley. They’re also suppose to provide rehab materials in exchange. It’s like the methadone clinics, but with injections.
Ashley Hansen that’s disgusting and they all need to be help accountable for THIER CHOICES. This is a horrible idea. What a bad example to set for the youth of this country. Shameful.
Safe haven ? Giving junkies a place to shoot poison into their veins. Ridiculous
Patrick Brennan why not? We coddle the alcoholics
Jonathan Adams Not really no….people get arrested for public intoxication….junkies who od don’t get arrested if they need Narcan…..
Enable them why don’t you…..
Lynn Marie EXACTLY what they’re doing!
Patrick Brennan i know, why not bring the casino to the gamblers house?? This is ridiculous once narcan is administered they should be arrested due to drug paraphernalia and processed like everyone else. Maybe some jail time will do them good…but hell no revive them give them a nice place to,shoot up and new needles and narcan for safety….why stop at that point? This state sucks, they have no clue….why not purchase their drugs for them and have a nurse there to assist with the injections? Might as well your doing everything else for them….
This country is headed down the wrong path…….smdh
Stephen O’Connor move to ?? ???
Jonathan Adams you’re an idiot
Jonathan Adams not really sure what you are implying
Wtf
This is so great…
More tax payer dollars for these scumbags.
Your children won’t have to see people od’ing in the street or fast food bathroom… parking lot.
Sharon Lynn Huber this won’t stop that. There will ALWAYS be people who chose to shoot up outside the center
We also won’t have as many car accidents… People in suburbs, towns, etc DRIVE to Philly to get dope. Then get in a car and shoot up while driving. That is how the young man driving on highway in NJ, ran over barrier, over a convertable at gas station decapitating a father and son. Then hitting young has attendant.
THREE DEAD
It is not enabling!!!!!
Addicts will use anyway.
It’ll give better quality of life for everyone
Sharon Lynn Huber Doing this is the definition of enabling!!!
Sharon Lynn Huber or having to locate their dead body, in a huge city. NJ folks will never understand Kensington.
Pathetic society of druggies. Od now.
Free fentanyl 1st 10 visits.
Or they could blow up Kensington to the ground, fumigate it.
For those who never had to locate their love one post overdose. Pipe the fuck down. I wish Philly had this option a year ago. Trying to track my fiance down was the worse night of my life.
Good God;?
I mean… There are no safe houses to murder someone, there are no safe houses to deal drugs, there are no safe houses for anything illegal. There absolutely should not be a safe house to continue an addiction. If you want to have this I require 2 basic rules here. 1. If you require narcan, you are required to be detained for a duration of time in a facility capable of handling addiction and 2. This CANNOT be a safe house for drug dealers, all evidence gathered there WILL be used to locate the person who sold them the drugs. Fair and simple. You cant handle your sh!t you go to mandatory rehab and we will still try to find a prosecute the person who sold you these drugs.
Agreed. It’s like saying, “I don’t agree with what you are doing, but here’s the best spot you can do it at.” Sends a great message.
Pathetic
Let junkies die
this is just fucking retarded.
WTF is wrong with this world/Heroin is a FUCKING Deadly Drug let alone illegal but let’s have a safe place to shoot fucking dope ☠?seriously FUCKED up this world is going down the shitter and fast ???
Like San Francisco people will be pooping in the streets soon.
Why?
Why?