Colorado's Push for ‘Safe Injection Sites’ Raises Concerns about More Crime and More Addiction
Written by: Marianne Partisan
Colorado is on the verge of possibly becoming the second state in the nation to legalize "supervised drug consumption" sites, often known as ‘safe injection sites’ or overdose prevention sites by Democrats.
Despite two failed earlier attempts, advocates for these sites have managed to convince a majority in the House Health and Human Services Committee to pass House Bill 24-1028 on a party-line vote of 9-4.
Democrats apparently not caring that these sites are illegal under federal law.
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With Democrats in control of both chambers, the bill seems likely to pass the House along party lines. While proponents of the bill may be persistent, the facts are not on their side when thoroughly examined.
The bill’s sponsor’s have relied on one metric, "effectiveness," to support their claim that these sites will reduce overdose deaths. They point to communities where these sites have been piloted, such as Vancouver, San Francisco, and New York's Harlem neighborhood, where there have been no reported overdose deaths on the sites themselves. However, conveniently omitted is the data showing that drug overdose rates have skyrocketed in the surrounding communities.
In Vancouver, where the normalization of such behavior has occurred over the past 20 years, deaths due to illicit drug toxicity have increased by a staggering 840% since the first site opened in 2004. Incidents of heroin possession and trafficking have also risen by nearly 170% during the same period.
Examining the overdose death rate alone should not be the sole metric used by the Colorado Legislature to assess the overall effectiveness of these sites. One crucial consideration is whether these sites actually reduce harm to individuals struggling with addiction.
The San Francisco's experiment with a safe injection site revealed that individuals revived from overdoses often continue to take drugs and overdose repeatedly.
There have been documented cases of the same person being revived from an overdose more than 30 times, leading to toxic brain injury and frontal lobe tissue destruction. Enabling the disease through safe injection sites is far from a benign effort.
Legislators must also evaluate the impact of these sites on surrounding neighborhoods.
In Harlem, neighbors reported an increase in drug markets, where dealers have easy access to customers. Meanwhile, children in Harlem are forced to navigate used syringes on sidewalks. A similar experience was seen in San Francisco, leading to the site's closure within a year of operation.
The connection between site visitors and treatment programs must be considered as well.
In Vancouver, less than 2% of site visitors access any form of treatment, and in San Francisco's pilot program, it was less than 1%. Additionally, the site operators in Harlem do not measure this indicator.
Finally, Colorado legislators should take note of the recent bipartisan repeal of Oregon's Measure 110 by its own Legislature. Measure 110, passed by Oregon voters in 2020, aimed to decriminalize drugs and reduce stigma for those struggling with addiction. However, in just three years, Oregon has become one of the nation's leaders in addiction and overdose death rates.
READ MORE:
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'LIFE OVER ABSTINENCE': COLORADO LEGISLATORS AGAIN PURSUE SUPERVISED DRUG USE CENTERS
As Colorado moves closer to legalizing safe injection sites, it is crucial for lawmakers to consider the negative consequences observed in other communities. Normalizing addiction and the use of deadly illegal drugs in neighborhoods will only exacerbate crime, drug trafficking, and addiction rates.
The well-being and safety of Colorado residents should be the top priority, rather than pursuing a misguided approach that has proven to be ineffective and harmful in other areas.