Nation's First Safe Injection Site May Get A Lease In Philadelphia Soon
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PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The nation's first supervised drug injection site is one step closer to opening in Philadelphia.
Officials with Safehouse, the nonprofit that wants to open the first site, said Thursday the group is in negotiations to sign a lease in Kensington, a neighborhood known as the center of the city's opioid crisis.
The announcement comes a month after Philadelphia's top federal prosecutor filed a suit to stop Safehouse from opening a site.
Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said Safehouse was offered a property by an anonymous owner. Rendell is on the board of Safehouse. Radio station WHYY was first to report the latest developments.
Philly.com reports Safehouse vice president Ronda Goldfein said the lease is for a "nominal" fee.
Philadelphia has the highest opioid death rate of any large U.S. city.
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