Pennsylvania lawmakers pursue a statewide ban on supervised injection sites

Proposed supervised injection websites have change into a thorny and contentious neighborhood-by-neighborhood difficulty — however the determination could also be taken out of their arms and put into the state’s.

Pennsylvania lawmakers took a step Tuesday to preemptively ban these websites throughout the Commonwealth whereas a Philadelphia nonprofit continues negotiations with the federal authorities in pursuit of a authorized pathway to function such a facility.

The state Senate Judiciary Committee cleared a invoice that might criminalize the operation of supervised injection or protected consumption websites, locations the place individuals might go to inject or use illicit medication underneath the remark of medical professionals who can intervene within the occasion of overdoses.

Lawmakers opposing such websites stated native methods to handle the dependancy and opioid disaster ought to as an alternative be centered on increasing remedy packages and companies.

“My constituents don’t want protected injection websites within the neighborhood,” stated Democrat Sen. Christine Tartaglione, who represents elements of North and Northeast Philadelphia, together with Kensington and Allegheny.

Tartaglione can be a foremost sponsor of the invoice to ban supervised injection websites.

“I feel it allows dependancy,” she stated. “We ought to be within the enterprise of giving these of us remedy.”

The invoice handed in an 11 – 3 committee vote.

The laws is in early levels. It might want to go in a Senate vote after which undergo the Home of Representatives and its committees earlier than reaching the governor’s desk for ultimate approval.

Democrat Sen. Nikil Saval, who represents Middle Metropolis and elements of South and North Philadelphia, joined the minority of legislators who voted in opposition.

“The state of affairs that we’re in now, during which we’re dropping individuals day-after-day to overdoses, would proceed,” Saval stated. “And I feel that we’d lose the capability to introduce a scientific, medically confirmed approach to scale back overdose deaths and get individuals into remedy.”