Boston City Council backs safe injection sites: ‘Unconscionable’ amid Mass and Cass drug crisis

The Boston City Council struck down a resolution opposing safe injection sites with proponents rejecting notions that legalizing such centers would incentivize addicts to shoot up and saying that they would help to prevent fatal drug overdoses The left-leaning City Council voted - Wednesday to oppose a resolution put forward by three moderate councilors Ed Flynn Erin Murphy and John FitzGerald who were asking the body to come out in opposition to state regulation debated last week on Beacon Hill that would provide a pathway for cities and towns to establish safe injection sites It is unconscionable that just weeks after we held a hearing in the South End where nearly neighbors and small businesses shared their lived experiences near Mass and Cass populace drug dealing society drug use human trafficking break-ins and sleeping in people s homes and cars and trespassing in backyards that we d even consider safe injection sites Flynn mentioned Residents all week continue to write to me about their experiences in Philadelphia he added It s been a tragedy there The City Council banned supervised injection sites - Flynn joined his co-sponsors Murphy and FitzGerald in casting the only yes votes for the resolution with eight progressive councilors voting in opposition In pushing for their resolution the three councilors argued that bringing safe injection sites would incentivize addicts to shoot up rather than seek recovery and worsen the open-air drug realm festering at and around Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard an area known as Mass and Cass Boston already has certain of the the bulk extensive harm reduction programs in the country Murphy disclosed Each year tens of thousands of syringes and even crack and meth pipe kits are distributed as part of low-threshold outreach Yes despite this our neighborhoods are overwhelmed by discarded needles and continued drug activity Expanding this model into sanctioned sites for injection will only deepen the cycle of addiction and further destabilize our communities Murphy added The answer is not to normalize or incentivize drug use The answer is to prioritize a recovery campus expand therapy access and make sure people struggling with substance use disorder have a real pathway out of addiction The majority of councilors present for the meeting disagreed with the sponsors and preferred to describe safe injection sites as overdose prevention centers Potentially OPCs prevent overdose deaths they reduce syndrome transmission they connect people to restoration they lower healthcare costs and do not increase crime Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata noted Boston could save an estimated million annually in downstream healthcare costs Citing academic articles on the topic Councilor Benjamin Weber declared Safe injection sites reduce the number of needles on the street because you re going to a place where you re using the needle in that place and they reduce masses drug use because you re using it in this location Vitality care workers would supervise people using pre-obtained illicit drugs at the facilities and step in to prevent fatal overdoses Legal protections would be provided for workers drug users accessing the facilities leadership officers and other stakeholders I think if we re really trying to help remove needles from the streets and get people to stop using drugs in inhabitants this is one tool in the toolbox Weber noted Noticing the way the wind was blowing before the vote FitzGerald announced he looked forward to working with his colleagues in ensuring that supervised injection sites were spread out across the city in their respective districts rather than being targeted in a way that exacerbates the drug realm that s spilled over into the South End which he represents Would you champion this cause in your own district FitzGerald petitioned councilors who favor safe injection sites Because if you do not all this will do again is centralize the services that are being offered especially around the area of the South End and my constituents Related Articles Chump change Boston s K settlement for Stuart murder wrongful arrests slammed as insult to Black public Boston Mayor Wu s DC sanctuary hearing legal bill hits K after latest spike records show Boston City Hall pays K settlement for wrongful arrests of two Black men in Carol Stuart murder Boston city councilor pushes measure opposing safe injection sites amid Mass and Cass drug situation Wu to run unopposed Boston mayoral recount confirms DaRosa won t replace Kraft on balloting ballot That is what created the trouble is the dearth of services where people now flock to and we are trying to decentralize it and take a regional approach FitzGerald announced So if you are on the side that once you formulate your opinion on this and you do think they re good I not only hope I expect for you all to be the champion in your own districts as well to provide this At a packed City Council meeting on Mass and Cass spillover earlier this month Boston Populace Medical Commissioner Bisola Ojikutu reported the city hands out more than needles per month to drug users as part of its harm reduction approach She credited that approach for reducing fatal overdoses and a cluster of more than HIV cases in the region that are largely tied to Mass and Cass drug injection Boston recorded overdoses last year representing a decline from City Councilor John FitzGerald Nancy Lane Boston Herald File City Councilors Erin Murphy and Ed Flynn Nancy Lane Boston Herald File