Ruling from judge reaffirms that Safehouse does not violate federal law

U.S. District Judge Gerald A. McHugh today reaffirmed his earlier decision that the supervised injection site Safehouse does not violate federal law.

Mayor Jim Kenney, Dr. Thomas Farley, commissioner of the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, and David T. Jones, commissioner of the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services (DBHIDS) issued statements today following the ruling:

Kenney

“We applaud the Court’s affirmation of its earlier ruling that Safehouse doesn’t violate the federal statute. The City will continue to support private operators such as Safehouse that seek to establish overdose prevention sites in Philadelphia.

“It is important to remember that these sites are — first and foremost — about saving lives. In fact, experts estimate an OPS in Philadelphia could save 24-76 lives a year. They provide a venue so that public health professionals can connect individuals to drug treatment and other vital support services. They prevent the spread of infections such as HIV and hepatitis C, while also reducing public drug use and discarded drug-related litter that affect quality of life in our neighborhoods.

“The bottom line is that overdose prevention sites — which exist in more than 100 cities around the world — offer compassion for fellow human beings, rather than misguided incarceration that only perpetuates the cycle of drug abuse. When a resident is suffering, our job as a City is to support efforts to alleviate that suffering, and to save lives.”

Farley

“We are gratified with the court’s ruling that it is legal to operate an overdose prevention site that helps those who are addicted to opioids get into drug treatment and keeps them alive until they start treatment. We intend to support Safehouse as it moves toward opening a site in Philadelphia.”

Jones

“Overdose Prevention Sites save lives. We know this to be true based on research and the role that such sites have played in supporting individuals and communities that are combating the opioid crisis on a global scale. We have been working for the past several years to expand treatment opportunities and to remove existing barriers to treatment. Overdose Prevention Sites offer another pathway to connect people with opioid use disorder to treatment. Expanded access to treatment benefits those in need, as well as the entire city of Philadelphia.”

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The prospect of a supervised injection site has stirred fervent opposition and equally fervent support in the past few years. We ran a number guest columns about the proposed site in fall 2019, illuminating the opinions of some nonprofit folks as well as residents of the neighborhood:

• Opinion: If Safehouse is allowed to open, our clients will only benefit
• Opinion: Most of the people who want Safehouse in Kensington do not live there
• Opinion: A safe injection site will not be good for Kensington. Things will get worse
• They’re 49% of Kensington-Harrowgate, but their voices are mostly missing from the Safehouse debate