Legislation would withhold federal funding from states or cities that implement sites where anti-drug laws are suspended for individuals to use dangerous drugs
Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler today introduced the Stop Injection Sites for Illegal Drugs Act to withhold federal funds from states or cities that implement and operate drug injection sites – public facilities designed for people to consume illicit drugs under medical supervision without legal consequence.
Herrera Beutler’s action follows the Justice Department’s recent announcement its evaluation of implementing drug injection sites across the country. The department is proceeding despite a January 2021 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit that supervised injection sites are illegal under the Controlled Substances Act and that the law prohibits any person from knowingly or intentionally maintaining a place for the purpose of illegal drug use.
A recent report released by public health authorities in Canada – where injection sites have been established in recent years – found that drug injection sites did not reduce overall overdose deaths or opioid-related emergency calls. The report also found that crime, measured by an increase in police calls for service, increased in areas surrounding the sites. Additionally, debris like unused needles, broken crack pipes, and other drug-related paraphernalia also increased in these areas.
Herrera Beutler’s bill would withhold federal funds from states or cities that implement and operate a drug injection site. Federal funds, however, would not be withheld from COPS (Community Oriented Policing Services) or Byrne Jag grants that fund police and community safety services.
“However well-intended, using taxpayer money to enable individuals to use heroin, fentanyl, and opioids in spaces throughout our communities will only worsen crime and dangerous debris while providing negligible benefit to those who are struggling with addiction,” Herrera Beutler said. “There’s no question that the drug epidemic that claimed a record 100,000 lives last year demands a more comprehensive response from policymakers, but putting injection rooms in our communities is no ‘solution’ at all. My goal as a co-founder of the Bipartisan Addiction and Mental Health Task Force is to advance solutions that lead to effective prevention and treatment that’s accessible to everyone, but that also takes into account the concern among law-abiding residents about the spikes in crime and dangerous debris that are making our communities less safe and livable.”
Click here for text of Herrera Beutler’s legislation.