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California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Monday vetoed a bill to create a pilot program for safe drug consumption sites in major cities across the state\u2014a decision viewed as a setback to the harm reduction movement that contradicts the governor\u2019s progressive drug policy reform record.<\/p>\n
There was an open question about what Newsom would do<\/a> with the harm reduction legislation from Sen. Scott Wiener (D), with recent reports signaling that he was undecided and concerned that signing it would be politically damaging as he considers a potential presidential run.<\/p>\n That\u2019s despite the fact that polling has found that a bipartisan majority of Americans support opening facilities where people could use currently illicit substances in a medically supervised environment to mitigate overdose deaths and provide people with treatment resources. That includes a plurality of support from Republicans.<\/p>\n But on Monday, Newsom made his choice, declining to bring the innovative harm reduction approach to California, much to the chagrin of advocates nationwide who have been closely following the legislation.<\/p>\n \u201cI have long supported the cutting edge of harm reduction strategies,\u201d Newsom said in a veto message<\/a>. \u201cHowever, I am acutely concerned about the operations of safe injection sites without strong, engaged local leadership and well-documented, vetted, and thoughtful operational and sustainability plans.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe unlimited number of safe injection sites that this bill would authorize\u2014facilities which could exist well into the later part of this decade\u2014could induce a world of unintended consequences,\u201d he wrote. \u201cIt is possible that these sites would help improve the safety and health of our urban areas, but if done without a strong plan, they could work against this purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n Newsom said he would instruct the state secretary of health and human services to \u201cconvene city and county officials to discuss minimum standards and best practices for safe and sustainable overdose prevention programs\u201d and that he remains \u201copen to this discussion when those local officials come back to the Legislature with recommendations for a truly limited pilot program\u2014with comprehensive plans for siting, operations, community partnerships, and fiscal sustainability that demonstrate how these programs will be run safely and effectively.\u201d<\/p>\n The bill would have authorized San Francisco, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County and Oakland to open overdose prevention sites under an initial pilot program, lasting through January 1, 2028.<\/p>\n As lieutenant governor in 2018, Newsom said he was \u201cvery, very open\u201d to the \u201cnovel strategy\u201d\u2014unlike his predecessor Gov. Jerry Brown (D) who vetoed a bill to authorize the city to launch a safe consumption site pilot program.<\/p>\n But on Monday, Newsom said that potential \u201cunintended consequences in cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Oakland cannot be taken lightly.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWorsening drug consumption challenges in these areas is not a risk we can take,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n Wiener called the governor\u2019s move \u201ctragic\u201d and \u201ca huge lost opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThese sites are proven to save lives and connect people to treatment,\u201d he said. \u201cSad day for CA\u2019s fight against overdose deaths.\u201d<\/p>\n Gov. Newsom vetoed our legislation to authorize SF, Oakland & LA to implement safe consumption sites.<\/p>\n The veto is tragic & a huge lost opportunity. These sites are proven to save lives & connect people to treatment. Sad day for CA\u2019s fight against overdose deaths.<\/p>\n My statement: pic.twitter.com\/YYrnZTlEss<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) August 22, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n \u201cSB 57 is not a radical bill by any stretch of the imagination. It simply gives permission to cities\u2014each of which has requested that permission\u2014to pilot safe consumption sites to save lives and get people into treatment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t need additional studies or working groups to determine whether safe consumption sites are effective. We know from decades of experience and numerous peer-reviewed scientific studies that they work,\u201d the senator argued. \u201cSafe consumption sites have been in operation around the world for approximately 30 years, with great success and literally zero overdose deaths. These sites are a proven strategy to reduce overdose deaths, pressure on emergency rooms, and public drug use, while expanding access to drug treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n Under the bill<\/a>, jurisdictions that chose to participate in the pilot program would have also needed to choose a single entity that they would have funded to conduct a peer-reviewed study of the efficacy and community impacts of authorizing the harm reduction centers statewide.<\/p>\n California Republican lawmakers made their opposition to the proposal clear, urging voters to contact the governor\u2019s office and stand against the legislation.<\/p>\n Gov. Newsom must sign or VETO SB 57 TODAY.<\/p>\n Tell the gov. to REJECT this dangerous bill! pic.twitter.com\/BxojiHOBHJ<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 CA Senate Republican Caucus (@SenateRepCaucus) August 22, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Assembly Minority Leader James Gallagher (R) sent a letter to Newsom earlier this month, telling him to veto the bill. He said in a press release that he was \u201camazed\u201d that he needed to make the point that \u201cenabling the behavior of drug addicts is a bad thing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDemocrats have given up on governing, so they are actively promoting crime instead,\u201d Gallagher said<\/a>. \u201cWhen he was in office, former Governor Jerry Brown vetoed this terrible bill and I urge Governor Newsom to do the same to protect all Californians.\u201d<\/p>\n Assembly Republican Leader @J_GallagherAD3<\/a>\u2019s letter urging Governor Newsom to Veto Open Air Drug Market Bill: https:\/\/t.co\/tvezdUuzYW<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 California Assembly Republicans (@AsmRepublicans) August 22, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The measure\u2019s sponsor, Wiener, also championed a bill to legalize psychedelics possession in California that cleared the Senate and several Assembly committees. But he shelved it this month after a final committee gutted the main components, leaving just a study component<\/a>.<\/p>\n When it comes to safe consumption sites, Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee (D) signed a similar harm reduction bill<\/a> last year. And the the\u00a0first sanctioned overdose prevention sites in the U.S.<\/a> opened in New York City late last year, with local health officials affirming that the programs are saving lives<\/a>.<\/p>\n New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D), a retired police officer known for his law-and-order ideology, has since proposed keeping the sites open for 24-hours after seeing both the demand for the services and the overdose prevention efficacy.<\/p>\n \u201cThat speaks volumes because he knows that these sites have been very successful in New York City in the nearly one year that they\u2019ve been in effect,\u201d Wiener told Marijuana Moment in a recent interview. \u201cWhatever the controversy, this is an idea that a lot of different people can get behind.\u201d<\/p>\n A study published by the American Medical Association (AMA) last month found that the those\u00a0safe consumption drug sites have, in fact, decreased overdose risk<\/a>, steered people away from using in public and provided other ancillary health services to people who use currently illicit substances.<\/p>\n The research letter, published in AMA\u2019s Journal of the American Medical Association, looked at data the New York City data over the course of two months. It found that trained staff at the sites intervened in 125 instances to mitigate overdose risk, administering naloxone and oxygen and providing other services to prevent deaths.<\/p>\n While New York is allowing the harm reduction centers to operate,\u00a0federal statute has been interpreted as barring such facilities, and\u00a0the Justice Department is actively in litigation<\/a>\u00a0that started during the Trump administration over a Philadelphia-based non-profit organization\u2019s attempt to open a safe consumption site.<\/p>\n However, the White House drug czar recently said that the Biden administration is\u00a0reviewing broader drug policy harm reduction proposals<\/a>, including the authorization of supervised consumption sites\u2014and he went so far as to suggest possible decriminalization.<\/p>\n \u2014 While the Biden administration is still investigating the clinical efficacy of such facilities, Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Director Rahul Gupta said that the proposal to lift the existing federal ban is on the table.<\/p>\n DOJ said in February that it is actively \u201cevaluating supervised consumption sites<\/a>, including discussions with state and local regulators about appropriate guardrails for such sites, as part of an overall approach to harm reduction and public safety.\u201d<\/p>\n In October, the Supreme Court\u00a0rejected a request to hear a case<\/a>\u00a0on the legality of establishing the Safehouse facilities, but the case is still before a lower federal court. Safehouse plaintiffs say that\u00a0they\u2019ve had \u201cproductive\u201d conversations with DOJ<\/a>\u00a0in recent months, which is part of the reason why they\u2019ve mutually agreed to extend the deadline for a federal response in the case several times.<\/p>\n The National Institutes of Health (NIH)\u00a0put out a pair of requests for applications<\/a>\u00a0(RFAs) in December for an effort that will provide funding for efforts to investigate how that and other harm reduction policies could help address the drug crisis.<\/p>\n Gupta previously said that it\u2019s critical to explore \u201cany and every option\u201d to reduce overdose deaths, and that\u00a0could include allowing safe consumption sites<\/a>\u00a0for illegal substances if the evidence supports their efficacy.<\/p>\n The secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Xavier Becerra, has also signaled that the Biden administration would not move to block the establishment safe injection sites, stressing that \u201cwe are literally trying to give users a lifeline.\u201d<\/p>\n But a department spokesperson\u00a0later walked those remarks back<\/a>, stating that \u201cHHS does not have a position on supervised consumption sites\u201d and the \u201cissue is a matter of ongoing litigation.\u201d In any case, it would be up to DOJ to decide whether to pursue operators of the facilities under the Controlled Substances Act.<\/p>\n When Becerra served as California attorney general he signed onto a brief with counterparts from other states when the Safehouse case was before a federal appeals court.<\/p>\n \u201cThe opioid epidemic has devastated communities throughout our nation. Safe injection sites aim to increase public health and safety by providing comprehensive services to victims of the opioid epidemic, while reducing the public nuisance of drug use in public spaces,\u201d he\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0at the time. \u201cSafe injection sites like Safehouse are an innovative tool to combat the opioid epidemic and drug dependency while reducing overdose death and transmission of diseases. California has always been a trailblazer, and we\u2019re committed to doing what it takes to keep our communities healthy and safe.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, a New York Assembly committee also advanced a bill in May to establish a\u00a0statewide safe consumption site program<\/a>, allowing regulators to authorize facilities where people could use currently illicit drugs in a medically supervised environment.<\/p>\n In a setback for advocates, however, Vermont\u2019s governor vetoed a bill in June that would have simply created a working group tasked with\u00a0crafting a plan to open safe consumption sites<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mormon Bishop And Former GOP Utah Rep. Champions Ayahuasca After Faith-Affirming Psychedelic Experience<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Jernej Furman<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post California Governor Vetoes Bill On Safe Drug Consumption Sites Despite Longtime Support For Harm Reduction<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Monday vetoed a bill to create a pilot program for safe drug consumption sites in major cities across the state\u2014a decision viewed as a setback to the harm reduction movement that contradicts the governor\u2019s progressive drug policy reform record. There was an open questionContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":56742,"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\/56741"}],"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=56741"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56741\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56743,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56741\/revisions\/56743"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: California Governor Vetoes Bill On Safe Drug Consumption Sites Despite Longtime Support For Harm Reduction<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"