Pennsylvania set to ban supervised drug use sites

 Pennsylvania lawmakers are set to pass a new ban on supervised drug consumption, effectively ending a Philadelphia nonprofit’s long-running effort to offer a sanctioned substance-use site meant to prevent overdose and death.

A bill outlawing sites that “knowingly” provide a space for drug consumption passed a committee vote by a wide margin on Tuesday. It now advances to the full state senate, where it is also expected to pass. Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, has expressed strong opposition to supervised injection sites in the past, and is expected to sign the legislation.

While supervised consumption advocates argue that the service would prevent overdoses, reduce disease transmission, and potentially help people access addiction treatment, local lawmakers say the bill reflects their constituents’ opposition to sanctioned drug use sites.

If the new law is enacted, it would represent the latest flashpoint in a long-running national debate over harm reduction, a philosophy that aims to avert the worst consequences of substance use, like death and disease, while recognizing that demanding instant abstinence is rarely practical.

It may also indicate a rightward lurch in U.S. attitudes toward harm reduction, and the country’s response to its drug epidemic more broadly. While the Biden administration has expressed unprecedented support for harm reduction, many Americans remain hostile to the approach.

Some harm-reduction tools, like syringe exchanges and fentanyl test strips, have gained a degree of acceptance, but supervised consumption is still largely taboo. Pennsylvania advocates had high hopes for a planned site in Philadelphia, however, and say the legislation would deal a demoralizing blow to local efforts to avert overdoses and save lives.

Offering medical supervision as people consume drugs that can cause overdose, like heroin and fentanyl, is among the most controversial tactics employed to prevent overdoses. 

In the U.S., supervised injection has long been viewed as illegal. When Safehouse attempted to offer the service in 2019, the Trump administration sued to stop it, citing a 1986 law that makes it illegal to maintain a space for the purpose of facilitating drug use. (That bill’s author: then-Sen. Joe Biden.)

Currently, only a few supervised consumption sites are in operation around the U.S. — and none have formally received the federal government’s blessing. Most notably, the nonprofit OnPoint NYC opened two supervised consumption sites in Manhattan late last year. Rhode Island has legalized supervised consumption sites as well, though it’s unclear when a planned site in Providence will open. The Biden administration has largely ignored the efforts.

STAT’s coverage of chronic health issues is supported by a grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies. Our financial supporters are not involved in any decisions about our journalism.

https://www.statnews.com/2023/04/28/addiction-supervised-sites-pennsylvania-ban/