A coalition of 80 current and former prosecutors and law enforcement officials\u2014including one who is President Joe Biden\u2019s pick for U.S. attorney of Massachusetts\u2014have filed a brief urging the Supreme Court to take up a case on the legality of establishing a safe injection facility where people can use illicit drugs in a medically supervised environment.<\/p>\n
The nonprofit organization Safehouse was set to launch a safe consumption site in Philadelphia before being blocked by a legal challenge from the Trump administration, and it filed a petition with the nation\u2019s highest court last month<\/a> to hear the case. Now the group of law enforcement officials associated with Fair and Just Prosecution are calling on the Supreme Court to act in an amicus brief.<\/p>\n \u201cAmici have an interest in this litigation because overdose prevention sites (OPSs) are among the harm reduction and public health interventions that have proven effective in preventing fatal overdoses and diverting people from unnecessary and counterproductive interactions with the justice system,\u201d they wrote. \u201cAmici, many of whom are currently or were previously responsible for enforcing the nation\u2019s drug laws, also believe that the Controlled Substances Act cannot be construed to prohibit operation of a facility designed to address the most acute aspects of this public health emergency.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs law enforcement and criminal justice leaders, amici\u2019s objective is to maintain public safety; saving lives and promoting health is as central to that mission as preventing and prosecuting crime.\u201d <\/p>\n Read the full brief: https:\/\/t.co\/e4Sv6oba4b<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Fair and Just Prosecution (@fjp_org) September 17, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n If the court agrees to hear the dispute, advocates will be looking toward the Biden Justice Department and whether it will continue the federal government\u2019s opposition to allowing supervised injection facilities. It would be a precedent-setting case that could steer policy for years to come, meaning Safehouse is taking a significant risk by pursuing the appeal of its loss in a lower court before the majority of conservative justices.<\/p>\n \u201cFailing to address the loss of life resulting from drug overdoses\u2014and criminalizing a community-based public health organization working to save lives\u2014will further erode trust in the justice system,\u201d the new brief<\/a> states. \u201cIf there were ever a time to demonstrate that our government values the dignity of human life, that time is now.\u201d<\/p>\n While President Joe Biden hasn\u2019t weighed in directly on safe consumption sites, there\u2019s been a theme within his administration of embracing the general concept of harm reduction for drugs. The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), for example, said that \u201cpromoting harm-reduction efforts\u201d is a first-year priority. In an\u00a0overview<\/a>\u00a0of its objectives, the office said it intends to expand \u201caccess to evidence-based treatment,\u201d enhance \u201cevidence-based harm reduction efforts\u201d and promote \u201caccess to recovery support services.\u201d<\/p>\n These goals theoretically align with those of Safehouse<\/a>, which wants to give people with substance use disorders a facility where medical professionals can intervene in the event of an overdose and provide people with the resources to seek recovery.<\/p>\n Among the signatories on the amicus brief are a former deputy assistant attorney general under Obama, district attorneys of Baltimore, Cook County, Dallas County, Los Angeles County, Manhattan, Philadelphia, San Francisco County and Seattle and the former attorneys general of Ohio, Vermont and Virginia.<\/p>\n But one signatory who especially stands out is Rachael Rollins, the district attorney of Suffolk County, Massachusetts who is Biden\u2019s nominee for U.S. attorney of Massachusetts.<\/p>\n \u201cAs an elected prosecutor, I have a responsibility to protect every member of my community, which requires moving away from criminal justice responses to substance use disorder,\u201d Rollins said in a press release<\/a>. \u201cInstead, we must embrace proven public health strategies as potential solutions. Lives depend on it.\u201d<\/p>\n Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said the drug war \u201chas taken too many lives already, and criminalization has only exacerbated this devastating toll.\u201d He added: \u201cWe need a new way forward that allows communities to address the overdose crisis with harm reduction approaches proven to save lives and improve community safety.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOur nation\u2019s failed war on drugs has taken too many lives\u2026and criminalization has only exacerbated this devastating toll. We need a new way forward that allows communities to address the overdose crisis with harm reduction approaches proven to save lives.” \u2013@DA_LarryKrasner<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Fair and Just Prosecution (@fjp_org) September 17, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Fair and Justice Prosecution, the group that coordinated the amicus brief, also organized a tour of Portugal for 20 top prosecutors<\/a> in 2019 so they could learn about the successful implementation of the country\u2019s drug decriminalization law.<\/p>\n Safehouse won a battle in a federal district court in 2019 to proceed with the facilities. But in January, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit overturned the decision, ruling that permitting such facilities would violate a 1980s-era federal statute that bars organizations from running operations \u201cfor the purpose of unlawfully\u2026 using controlled substances.\u201d That law was passed while Biden served in the Senate and helped push punitive drug policies that have had lasting consequences.<\/p>\n \u201cAs current and former criminal justice leaders, amici have seen first-hand how the classic \u2018war on drugs\u2019 approach to drug control\u2014with its almost exclusive focus on aggressive criminal law enforcement\u2014has exacerbated the overdose epidemic,\u201d the pro-reform prosecutors and cops wrote in the new brief. \u201cThis experience confirms that no jurisdiction can arrest its way out of this public health problem. Fatal overdoses are a symptom of substance use disorder, a medical condition requiring a medical response.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDistorting federal drug laws to prohibit an [overdose prevention site] or to prosecute its sponsors would further undermine trust in the justice system and faith in the fair and sensible application of our drug laws. Interpreting federal criminal law to bar empirically validated harm reduction measures would make no one safer; it would only impede cooperation between law enforcement and the communities they serve.\u201d<\/p>\n In its original petition<\/a> to the Supreme Court in the current safe injection site case, Safehouse argued that the justices should \u201cgrant review to determine whether\u201d federal statute really does prohibit \u201cnon-commercial, non-profit social service agencies\u2026from establishing an overdose-prevention site that includes medically supervised consumption.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis question is a matter of life or death for thousands of Philadelphians and many thousands more throughout the country,\u201d it said. \u201cTragically, while respondents have been pursuing this declaratory judgment against Safehouse, more than 3,200 people died in Philadelphia of drug overdoses\u2014many of which could have been prevented if medical care had been immediately available through supervised consumption services.\u201d<\/p>\n Safehouse also pointed out that Xavier Bacerra, the Biden administration\u2019s secretary of health and human services, was among eight top state law enforcement officials who\u00a0filed<\/a> an earlier amicus brief in support of the organization\u2019s safe injection site plan<\/a>\u00a0when he served as California\u2019s attorney general.<\/p>\n The organization put the gravity of the case in no uncertain terms, painting a picture of how its proposed facility can save lives.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen breathing stops, even a brief delay while waiting for medical help to arrive may result in an otherwise preventable overdose death or irreversible injury,\u201d the petition says. \u201cAs a result, every second counts when responding to an opioid overdose; as more time elapses, the greater the risk of serious injury and death. Ensuring proximity to medical care and opioid reversal agents like the drug Naloxone at the time of consumption is therefore a critical component of efforts to prevent fatal opioid overdose.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIntervention by this Court is warranted to make clear that the federal law does not criminalize this essential public health and medical intervention designed to save lives from preventable overdose death,\u201d it continues.<\/p>\n Safehouse argued that the appeals court\u2019s interpretation of the law \u201ceviscerates the intended boundaries of the statute and would criminalize the operation of legitimate businesses, charities, families, and good Samaritans that serve and reside with those suffering from addiction.\u201d<\/p>\n If the Supreme Court were to take up the case and rule in favor of Safehouse, it could embolden advocates and lawmakers across the country to pursue the harm reduction policy.<\/p>\n The governor of Rhode Island signed a bill in July to establish a safe consumption site pilot program<\/a>\u00a0where people could test and use currently illicit drugs in a medically supervised environment. It became the first state in the country to legalize the harm reduction centers. It\u2019s not clear whether the Department of Justice will seek to intervene to prevent the opening of such facilities in that state.<\/p>\n Massachusetts lawmakers\u00a0advanced similar legislation last year<\/a>, but it was not ultimately enacted.<\/p>\n A similar harm reduction bill in California, sponsored by Sen. Scott Wiener (D), was approved in the state Senate in April, but further action has been delayed until 2022.<\/p>\n At the same time that Safehouse is turning to the Supreme Court, it also announced recently that it will be returning the the federal district court that gave it an initial 2019 victory in support of establishing a safe injection facility before it was overturned in the appeals court.<\/p>\n The organization is making the unique argument that the federal government\u2019s decision to block it from providing the service violates religious freedom by subjecting participants \u201cto criminal penalties for exercising their sincerely held religious beliefs that they have an obligation to do everything possible to preserve life and to provide shelter and care to the vulnerable, including those suffering from addiction.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2018, a congressional subcommittee approved legislation to specifically prohibit Washington D.C. from using local tax dollars\u00a0to help open safe consumption facilities<\/a>. But that provision was not enacted and has not been reintroduced since.<\/p>\n A 2020 study found that people \u201cwho reported using supervised injection facilities on an at least weekly basis\u00a0had a reduced risk of dying<\/a>\u00a0compared to those who reported less than weekly or no use of this health service.\u201d<\/p>\n Read the amicus brief from the prosecutors on the Safehouse safe injection site case below:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Safehouse Amicus Sept 2021<\/a> by Marijuana Moment<\/a><\/p>\n Former GOP Congressman Who Actually Supported Marijuana Reform Enters The Cannabis Industry<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Jernej Furman<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post 80 Top Law Enforcement Officials, Including A Biden Nominee, Urge SCOTUS To Hear Safe Injection Drug Case<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A coalition of 80 current and former prosecutors and law enforcement officials\u2014including one who is President Joe Biden\u2019s pick for U.S. attorney of Massachusetts\u2014have filed a brief urging the Supreme Court to take up a case on the legality of establishing a safe injection facility where people can use illicitContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50002"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50002"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50002\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50003,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50002\/revisions\/50003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: 80 Top Law Enforcement Officials, Including A Biden Nominee, Urge SCOTUS To Hear Safe Injection Drug Case<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"