Rhode Island Becomes First State In The Nation To Authorize Supervised Drug-Injection Centers

Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee, on Wednesday, signed into law a bill that will establish a safe consumption site pilot program wherein people can test as well as use illicit drugs in a medically supervised environment, making Rhode Island the first state in the nation to establish such a program, which supporters say will save lives.
The legislation was approved by the House of Representatives in late June after many starts and stops.

The topic of legal consumption sites, which sparks strong feelings, seemed to remain on the minds of not just legislators but friends and family members of the hundreds who have died from opioid overdoses in Rhode Island and are seeking viable harm reduction policies.

The goal of the safe injection sites is to provide clean needles to curtail the spread of infectious diseases; test drugs and provide a bridge to medical and substance abuse treatment.

Advocates hailed the program as a much-needed tool. Rhode Island experienced a record 384 accidental overdose deaths in 2020 alone and is on track to possibly another record-breaking year.

“That’s amazing. … I’m a little taken aback,” state Sen. Joshua Miller (D-Providence) said to local public radio upon learning that Gov. McKee had signed the measure into law. Miller has championed the harm-reduction legislation for several years. He added that the next focus will now be working with health officials and an advisory committee.

Local Response

While the conventional argument against supervised drug-injection centers is that they send a government-sanctioned message in support of using hard drugs, those who understand addiction often hold a more nuanced position.

Rep. John Edwards, one of the House sponsors of the bill, seemed to understand the importance of harm reduction.
“This bill will keep people alive,” Edwards told The Providence Journal. “That’s the end result -- people, who otherwise will die alone somewhere in our state, will remain alive.”

Edwards said ignoring drug addiction adds to the body count and that it’s better to give users a safe, supervised place to inject. Supporters say these sanctioned centers have made a positive difference in Canada and almost a dozen other countries where they are legal.

Image by TheOtherKev from Pixabay