PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — In a tumultuous return from the summer break, City Council passed legislation that would bar safe injection sites in most of the city, following heated public testimony.
The bill changes zoning codes in nine out of 10 City Council districts to prevent the establishment of a safe injection site, where medical professionals monitor intravenous drug use in order to prevent overdose deaths, which topped 1,200 in 2021.
It passed 14-to-1. Only Councilmember Kendra Brooks voted against it.
In testimony, opponents of the bill cited the potential life-saving benefits of safe injection sites. “If you folks deny us this tool, you are responsible for these deaths,” said one.
State Sen. Nikil Saval testified that the city needs the sites: “Against the backdrop of this crisis, overdose prevention sites have risen as a proven, commonsense tool to save lives.”
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Supporters of the bill made equally heartfelt arguments about the potential harm safe injection sites could do to the surrounding community — at times talking over the voices of hecklers from the other side.
“Our children are stepping over bodies and needles. I have a 6-year-old little girl that fell on a needle and has to be tested for HIV every six months,” said one supporter to a chorus of cheers and boos.
The bill’s sponsor, Quetcy Lozada, pushed back on opponents, saying most of them are from outside of Kensington in her district, which is besieged by drug dealers and people in addiction.
“I will not apologize for making the voice of the people who live in my community a priority,” Lozada said. “I would like those of you who don’t live in the Kensington community to respect those individuals who are raising their families there and are impacted by what they go through every day.”
Councilmember Jamie Gauthier also opposed the bill, but she was out of town. She is the only district council member who did not put her district into the banned area, which means West Philadelphia would be the only part of the city where a safe injection site could be located without a zoning change.
There are currently no safe injection sites in the city, but efforts to open one go back to 2018 with the formation of the nonprofit Safehouse. An appeals court blocked the establishment of a site in South Philadelphia. Since then, Safehouse has been in talks with federal officials on an agreement that would allow a site to open.
The bill goes next to Mayor Jim Kenney’s desk.