Bid to open safe injection sites in San Francisco, Oakland heads to Gov. Newsom's desk
SACRAMENTO – A bill from a Bay Area lawmaker that would allow Oakland and San Francisco, along with Los Angeles, to open safe injection sites for opioid users has cleared the legislature and is heading to Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk.
Senate Bill 57 by State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) passed its final legislative vote in the State Senate on Monday, by a margin of 21-11. The bill previously passed the Assembly in late June on a 42-29 vote.
Under SB57, the three cities would be allowed to set up the sites, where opioid users can legally inject drugs in supervised settings. Trained staff would be on hand to help prevent accidental overdoses.
In a written statement, Wiener said the sites are needed as California and the nation are facing what he described as a "dramatic and preventable" increase in fatal overdoses. In San Francisco, 711 people died from overdoses in 2020, followed by another 640 deaths in 2021.
"Safe consumption sites are a proven model to help people avoid overdose deaths, reduce HIV and hepatitis transmission, reduce syringe litter, and help people access treatment," Wiener said. "This legislation isn't about whether we want people to use drugs. Rather, it's an acknowledgment that people *are* using drugs, and our choice is whether we want to make every effort to help them survive and get healthy."
Injection sites have recently opened in New York, while Rhode Island has also legalized the sites.
The legislature has previously approved legislation allowing safe injection sites in 2018, but was vetoed by then-Gov. Jerry Brown.
If approved, the pilot program would run for five years, ending in 2028.
