The governor said he supported the idea of supervised facilities to reduce overdoses and deaths, but the state was not yet ready to implement it.
As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share.
LOS ANGELES – The Gov. Gavin Newsom introduced legislation Monday that would allow some California cities to open supervised drug injection sites as part of a pilot program aimed at stemming the tide of fatal overdoses.
“I have long supported the best harm reduction strategies,” he said in a veto letter. “However, I am deeply concerned about safe injection site operations without strong, engaged local leadership and well-documented, vetted and thoughtful operational and sustainability plans.”
Mr Newsom said he was concerned about a “world of unintended consequences” that could come from authorizing an unlimited number of sites. He directed the state secretary of health and human services to work with local leaders to set statewide operating standards for such facilities.
The proposal would make the country’s most populous state the broadest experiment with supervised injection sites, where people who use illegal drugs could do so under the watch of staff trained to intervene in overdoses.
When the Democratic-controlled state legislature approved the bill earlier this month, it received fewer votes in favor than would have been needed to overcome a veto.
The governor’s decision to sign or veto the bill was closely watched as a sign of his political ambitions outside of California.
Mr. Newsom, a Democrat, has built a national profile as a staunch defender of popular progressive causes such as abortion rights and gun control. But political observers speculated that he would be reluctant to sign the injection site bill, which could provide strong fodder for his conservative critics if it becomes law.
“He likes to be ahead of the curve,” Jessica Levinson, a political analyst who teaches at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, said of Mr. Newsom recently. “But if he signs this, the announcements write themselves: He becomes ‘Governor of Heron’.”
Supporters of the measure, including local elected officials, said the synthetic opioid fentanyl was driving the worst overdose crisis in American history, one closely intertwined with California’s catastrophic housing crisis. They said the bill offered Mr. Newsom an opportunity to save thousands of lives while saving taxpayers the cost of many ambulance rides and emergency room visits.
The bill would allow the cities of San Francisco, Los Angeles and Oakland, as well as Los Angeles County, to establish supervised injection facilities in communities already struggling with open drug use and frequent overdoses. At the centres, drug users would be offered supplies such as clean needles, and could be linked to treatment services.
In 2018, while campaigning for governor, Mr. Newsom said he was “very, very open” to an injection site pilot project, according to The San Francisco Chronicle. But he did not make his position on this year’s proposal known until it was announced on Monday.
Proponents of the proposal, including Republican state lawmakers and some law enforcement groups, argued that establishing the sites would encourage illicit drug use and not require users to seek treatment.
“People struggling with addiction need help, not a legal place to shoot,” Scott Wilk, the Republican leader of the state Senate, said in a statement Monday.
Mr. Newsom’s predecessor, Jerry Brown, a Democrat, vetoed a similar bill in 2018, saying the sites would not reduce drug use without the need for treatment.
Cities from Seattle to Philadelphia have made plans to open supervised injection sites. The nonprofit group set to open the Philadelphia center sued the Trump administration, but Biden administration officials are now discussing settling the case, indicating openness to the idea at the federal level.
Scott Wiener, the California lawmaker who wrote the bill that reinstated Mr. Newsom on Monday, said the governor might be uncomfortable seeing the Biden administration adopt a more progressive drug policy than his famously liberal home state.
He described the veto as a tragic missed opportunity to address one of the state’s most pressing problems.
The proposal was “not a radical bill by any stretch of the imagination,” Mr. Wiener said in a statement Monday. “We don’t need to have additional studies or workgroups to find out if safe consumption sites are effective. We know from years of experience and dozens of peer-reviewed scientific studies that they work.”
He called the veto “a big step forward,” but said he and other lawmakers would continue to push the state to “focus on drug use and addiction as their health issues.”
The governor said in his veto letter that he was open to future legislation that would allow a “very limited pilot program.”
Mr. Newsom is seeking re-election this year, and is expected to win easily, after defeating a recall effort in 2021. His strong position has allowed him to devote more time and resources to other matters.
He fueled speculation about his presidential ambitions when he bought ads in Florida and Texas criticizing the Republican governors of those states. After Roe v. Wade being overturned, Mr. Newsom issued a “wake-up call” to his own party about the erosion of rights by the G.O.P.
Although Mr. Newsom has so far vehemently denied that he is interested in a 2024 presidential run, recent polls have found him to be a leading contender — at least among Californians.
According to the poll, released last week by the Berkeley Institute for Government Studies, nearly two-thirds of California voters did not want President Biden to seek a second term. Mr. Newsom and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who finished first in California’s 2020 Democratic presidential primary, were tied as the top candidates to replace the president on the ticket if he does not run. Vice President Kamala Harris, another Californian, came in third.
On Monday, a spokesman for Mr. Newsom’s campaign, Nathan Click, again denied that the governor had any interest in running for president.
Vancouver has the only legal drug consumption room in North America. It operates under a special exemption from the country’s drug laws that it almost lost in 2008.
Are safe injection sites ethical?
Most importantly, the municipal governing bodies and the clinicians who staff these facilities collaborate to combat the evils of illegal drug abuse. Summary: Safe injection sites are morally illegal.
Do safe injection sites help? Supervised injection sites improve health outcomes. One study found a 26% net reduction in overdose deaths in the area surrounding a supervised injection site in Vancouver, Canada, compared to the rest of the city.
What is a safe drug injection site?
Supervised injection sites (SIS) are medically supervised facilities designed to provide a healthy environment in which people can consume illicit recreational drugs intravenously and prevent drug overdose deaths. The legality of such a facility depends on location and political jurisdiction.
Do safe injection sites reduce harm?
New research shows that safe injection sites are an effective option for reducing harm among people who inject drugs. The study, released by the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER), found that safe injection sites help prevent drug overdose deaths compared to needle exchange programs.
What is the point of safe injection sites?
A safe injection site is a legal, medically supervised facility for intravenous drug use. They provide a healthy and safe environment in which IV drug users can safely inject. These facilities do not sell or provide any illegal drugs; users bring their own drugs and give themselves.
How Do safe injection sites save lives?
Proponents of safe injection sites (also known as safe consumption sites or supervised injection sites) say they prevent drug overdose deaths, and connect participants to counseling, treatment and other health services.
How Do safe injection sites save lives?
Proponents of safe injection sites (also known as safe consumption sites or supervised injection sites) say they prevent drug overdose deaths, and connect participants to counseling, treatment and other health services.
How are safe injection sites helpful?
New research shows that safe injection sites offer many advantages over needle exchange programs in preventing opioid overdoses and deaths. Doctors say the benefits of the sites include reduced risk of death and strain on the health care system, and increased access to treatment.
What is the effectiveness of supervised injection services?
started injecting at Insite compared to 70% two years later (12). Clients visiting SISs in Europe report using condoms more consistently after using SISs (2). Cost Effectiveness Studies have shown that 17% of Insite clients tested positive for HIV and 88% tested positive for Hepatitis C (HCV) (13,14).
What are the 5 injection sites?
IM injections are administered in five possible sites: deltoid (commonly used for adult vaccination), dorsogluteal, ventrogluteal, rectus femoris, and vastus lateralis3,10,11 (Figure 1).
What are the 5 types of injections? What are the different types of injections?
- Intravenous (IV) injection. An IV injection is the fastest way to inject medication and involves using a syringe to inject medication directly into a vein. …
- Intramuscular (IM) injection. …
- Subcutaneous (SC) injection. …
- Intradermal injection (ID).
How many types of injection sites are there?
Learn about the 4 types of injections: intradermal, subcutaneous, intravenous and intramuscular, and what they are used for in Singapore.
What are the four major sites of injection?
Summary. There are four places on your body that can be used to give yourself an intramuscular injection. These include the upper arm, thigh, hip, and buttocks.
How do I find IM injection sites?
What is a injection site?
Otherwise safe injection sites are called supervised injection sites, overdose prevention centers, and drug consumption rooms. They provide the user with a safe place to use with a ready clinician ready to be involved in an overdose situation.
What are the three types of injection sites? IV infusions allow a set amount of medication to be given in a controlled manner over a period of time. Intramuscular (IM) injection. IM injections are given deep into a muscle where the medication is quickly absorbed by the surrounding blood vessels. Subcutaneous (SC) injection.
How do you identify an injection site?
What are the factors to be considered when selecting the site of injection?
For example, the length and width of the needle and the type of syringe must be suitable for the injection site, viscosity and amount of the medication. BMI, age and condition of the patient are other key factors in the selection process.
What are the four major sites of injection?
Summary. There are four places on your body that can be used to give yourself an intramuscular injection. These include the upper arm, thigh, hip, and buttocks.
How much does it cost to run a safe injection site?
The estimated annual cost to run the SIF is $1,222,332. The corresponding cost-benefit ratio suggests that the pilot SIF would generate $4.22 for every dollar spent on SIF operating costs.
What is the safest injection site? ARMS: Arms, first upper and lower, are the safest places to inject. You should be careful to secure the ‘rolled’ veins in the forearms before you inject into them.
Are supervised injection sites legal in the US?
Although the city allows them, the sites are arguably still illegal under federal law, and rely on non-enforcement from federal officials to continue operating.
Are supervised injection sites legal in Canada?
Are these services legal in Canada? Yes. Supervised injection services and overdose prevention sites are legal in Canada and require an exemption under Section 56 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA). Exemptions are granted by the federal Minister of Health.
What are safe drug consumption sites?
Safer drug use services (SCS) are designated settings where people can use previously obtained drugs in the safety and support of trained personnel. Over the past 30 years, SCS has been implemented across 100 sites in 60 cities in 11 countries around the world.
How Much Do safe injection sites cost Canada?
Toronto city council has already approved the supervised injection sites, which are estimated to cost $1.6 million a year to operate. Last month, Health Canada approved plans to create four supervised injection sites – two in Surrey, B.C., one in Vancouver and a mobile consumption site in Montreal.
How much does it cost to open a safe injection site?
The estimated annual cost to run the SIF is $1,222,332. The corresponding cost-benefit ratio suggests that the pilot SIF would generate $4.22 for every dollar spent on SIF operating costs. The pilot SIF is estimated to save the health care system $534,453.
Is Vancouver Canada’s supervised injection facility cost saving?
Conclusions: An Insite safe injection facility and syringe exchange program significantly reduces the incidence of HIV infection within Vancouver’s IDU community. The associated savings in avoided HIV-related medical care costs are sufficient to offset Insite’s operating costs.