Safehouse's Legal Hurdles Continue As DOJ Moves Against Overdose Prevention Sites

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is asking a federal court to drop a case brought by the Philadelphia nonprofit organization Safehouse. The move follows a years-long legal hurdle around the legality of safe drug consumption sites.

What Happened: A motion to dismiss the case was filed on Friday, reported Marijuana Moment.

The DOJ challenged Safehouse's argument that its activities — operating spaces where people can legally inject heroin, fentanyl and other opiates under medical supervision — should be protected under the Controlled Substances Act based on religious freedom laws.

Safehouse has acknowledged that it is not a religious organization, undermining its exemption claim, the DOJ states.

See Also: Department Of Justice Asks Federal Court For Another Delay In A Safe Drug Consumption Site Lawsuit

"Safehouse believes that maintaining a supervised injection site for unlawful users of heroin, fentanyl, and other opioids would, in essence, do more good than harm," the department stated. "As Safehouse has emphasized throughout its pleading, this conclusion is not religious, but is a judgment based on Safehouse's opinions about social circumstances and medical policy."

DOJ requested several delays in the lawsuit so far to evaluate its position on the harm reduction centers.

Why It Matters: Safehouse initially filed a complaint in 2021 asking the court to protect what could have been the first overdose prevention center in Philadelphia against the "crackhouse statute," which condemns any location with the "purpose of manufacturing, distributing, or using any controlled substance."

That complaint was prompted by an earlier ruling by a three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that Safehouse's activities would violate federal law, reversing a previous district court decision.

DOJ initially sued in 2019, under the Trump administration, to block Safehouse from opening a safe consumption site.

Judge Gerald A. McHugh, who has overseen the case from the start, initially rejected DOJ's arguments — a ruling that the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned in 2021.

Pennsylvania Coalition Denied Request To Intervene

A coalition of Pennsylvania community groups that sought to intervene in the lawsuit as party-plaintiffs were denied their request on Monday by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

The coalition raised concerns in April around the DOJ's plans to back off of the lawsuit it filed under the Trump administration.

"The Community Groups seek immediate intervention to protect the interests the Government may imminently abandon," the group said at the time. "For decades, the Community Groups' members have suffered the consequences of their neighborhoods' infestation with crime and drugs."

Judge McHugh wrote the group's motion "misunderstands the Government's current position, and the Government's recent Motion to Dismiss seeks to enforce Section 856 by vigorously defending against Safehouse's counterclaims."

He also rejected an amicus brief submitted by the four Pennsylvania lawmakers earlier this year against any agreement in the lawsuit.

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Photo: Courtesy of Diana Polekhina on Unsplash