Pennsylvania’s Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday passed legislation banning supervised injection sites anywhere in the Keystone State.
Under the bill sponsored by State Senator Christine Tartaglione (D-Philadelphia), no locality in Pennsylvania could permit the operation of a center wherein people could take illegal substances without risking prosecution. Such locations, which are also called “safe injection sites,” “safe consumption spaces,” or “overdose prevention sites,” aim to avert opioid overdoses and drug-related disease transmission. Opponents like Tartaglione (pictured above) say the sites more effectively worsen opioid addiction and the carnage it creates.
Her bill would broadly prohibit any spaces from allowing any illegal drug use by any means, including injection, ingestion, or inhalation. In testimony before the committee, she insisted her bill would not constrain any other harm-reduction programs in the commonwealth, including the needle exchange sites in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Johnstown.
“We need to make sure that this [measure] gets prioritized because recovery needs to take place, not prolonged addiction,” the senator said.
Tartaglione introduced her bipartisan legislation during the last session, but it did not then receive a committee vote. A memorandum describing her bill observed that overdoses claimed the lives of about 42 Pennsylvania residents per 100,000 in 2020 and that that figure has risen sharply in recent years.
“This is completely unacceptable, and we are committed to finding the appropriate strategy, including adequately funding treatment and community-based recovery support services, to help curb this epidemic and dramatically decrease the amount of overdose deaths occurring in the Commonwealth,” the senator wrote. “Safe injection sites are counter-productive to this overall goal. They give refuge to those with opioid use and other substance use disorders and allow them to continue using these deadly substances.”
Her bill passed the committee with the support of all nine Republicans and two Democrats. Three southeastern Democrats — Amanda Cappelletti (D-Norristown), Art Haywood (D-Philadelphia) and Nikil Saval (D-Philadelphia) — voted no.
“The bill would criminalize the saving of lives by medical personnel,” Saval said. “It would effectively criminalize these facilities that are dedicated to the prevention of overdose and death.”
He cited data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing 106,699 drug-overdose deaths occurred in America in 2021, the vast majority resulting from use of opioids such as fentanyl and heroin. Pennsylvania suffers more overdose fatalities per capita than all but eight other states, losing 15 people to excess intake every day in 2021.
“The purpose of the center[s],” Saval said, “is to stop these deaths and to prevent the grief that perforates our communities and to foster public health and safety.”
The state senator declared that sites set up in other jurisdictions have proven effective in mitigating drug-related harms by providing a clean setting and trained supervisory staff who can medically intervene should an overdose occur. He mentioned that Vancouver, Canada saw illegal substance-related fatalities fall by 35 percent in the city’s downtown Eastside neighborhood after opening an injection facility. He suggested such sites in Europe have prevented overdose deaths as well.
Before the bill’s passage, committee Chair Lisa Baker (R-Dallas) amended it to give state prosecutors concurrent jurisdiction to take legal action against injection sites. Backers of her amendment said it is necessary because at least one left-wing city prosecutor — Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner (D) — has made clear he will not enforce prohibitions on these spaces.
“I don’t think it’s any secret, the publicity of the current district attorney of Philadelphia’s intent not to prosecute these individuals…,” State Senator Wayne Langerholc (R-Johnstown) said. “I think it’s very clear that the district attorney’s not going to act — he’s made that abundantly clear — so we need to provide someone who’s willing to do the job….”
Baker’s amendment succeeded with no Democratic support. Opponents suggested it would encroach on localities’ prosecutorial powers.
“I do not think that we need to, in any way, expand the powers of the Attorney General’s office to be concurrent with any of the county district attorneys…,” Haywood said. “The authorities of the county district attorneys are sufficient to enforce the laws of the commonwealth.”
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Bradley Vasoli is managing editor of The Pennsylvania Daily Star. Follow Brad on Twitter at @BVasoli. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Senator Tina Tartaglione” by Senator Tina Tartaglione. Background Photo “Pennsylvania State Capitol” by Kumar Appaiah. CC BY-SA 2.0.
