In the United States, efforts to open up Safe Injection Sites are now underway, although the legality of SIS is still questionable and very controversial. Currently, federal law does not explicitly define whether SIS are legal or not, which leaves the issue of legality open to interpretation[1]. Although still a gray area, some clauses of the federal Controlled Substances Act may threaten the very core of its existence. Section 856 of the CSA states that:
“It shall be unlawful to… manage or control any place… and knowingly and intentionally… make available for use… the place for the purpose of unlawfully manufacturing, storing, distributing, or using a controlled substance”[2].
Currently, there are no official, state-sanctioned Safe Injection Sites operating in the United States, but many cities are working on gaining approval [3]. In January of 2017, a bill was introduced in favor of legalizing Safe Injection Sites in California. In the bill, Assemblywoman Susan Eggman sought for the authorization of these facilities, otherwise known as "drug consumption programs", in various cities/ counties across California, including Los Angeles and San Francisco. Although the bill passed through the Assembly and various committees, it failed by 2 votes on the Senate Floor[4].
In Washington, similar efforts were made to open up these facilities in Seattle and King County[5], but were also met with strong opposition. In January of 2017, Senator Mark Miloscia proposed a bill to essentially ban Safe Injection Sites in Washington[6]. Despite political resistance through failed legislation, there still persists a strong movement across major U.S. cities to legalize these site
 | This is a user sandbox of Quynhkieu. You can use it for testing or practicing edits. This is not the sandbox where you should draft your assigned article for a dashboard.wikiedu.org course. To find the right sandbox for your assignment, visit your Dashboard course page and follow the Sandbox Draft link for your assigned article in the My Articles section. |
- ^ Beletsky, Leo; Davis, Corey S.; Anderson, Evan; Burris, Scott (2008-2). "The Law (and Politics) of Safe Injection Facilities in the United States". American Journal of Public Health. 98 (2): 231–237. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2006.103747. ISSN 0090-0036. PMC 2376869. PMID 18172151.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)CS1 maint: PMC format (link) - ^ "21 U.S. Code § 856 - Maintaining drug-involved premises". LII / Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 2017-10-26.
- ^ "Safe injections centers are not opium dens". Los Angeles Times. 2017-06-24. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2017-10-26.
- ^ "Bill Text - AB-186 Controlled substances: safer drug consumption program". leginfo.legislature.ca.gov. Retrieved 2017-10-26.
- ^ "Seattle, King County move to open nation's first safe injection sites for drug users". The Seattle Times. 2017-01-27. Retrieved 2017-10-26.
- ^ "Washington State Legislature". app.leg.wa.gov. Retrieved 2017-10-26.