Newsom vetoes bill establishing legalized heroin injection sites in California

California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed legislation on Monday from the state legislature that would have allowed three cities in the Golden State to open legalized heroin injection sites.

Newsom vetoed Senate Bill 57 saying the action was taken out of concerns that "The unlimited number of safe injection sites that this bill would authorize — facilities which could exist well into the later part of this decade — could induce a world of unintended consequences," by allowing permitting the sites in Los Angeles, Oakland, and San Francisco.

Newsom stated, "It is possible that these sites would help improve the safety and health of our urban areas, but if done without a strong plan, they could work against this purpose," and added, "…Worsening drug consumption challenges in these areas is not a risk we can take."

In his statement explaining the veto, the governor said he was instructing the Secretary of Health and Human Services to "convene city and county officials to discuss minimum standards and best practices for safe and sustainable overdose prevention programs."

"I remain open to this discussion when those local officials come back to the Legislature with recommendations for a truly limited pilot program — with comprehensive plans for siting, operations, community partnerships, and fiscal sustainability that demonstrate how these programs will be run safely and effectively," he continued.

However, one of the cities indicated that they plan to proceed despite Newsom’s veto.

San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu plans to move forward in allowing a non-profit to open up a heroin injection site despite the governor’s veto. He said in a statement to The Standard, "San Francisco must continue to work to address our opioid overdose crisis. To save lives, I fully support a non-profit moving forward now with New York’s model of overdose prevention programs." State Senator Scott Wiener, one of the sponsors of the legislation, echoed the same sentiment.

Democratic Mayor London Breed similarly expressed in a statement, "we know implementing overdose prevention programs is a key step in our efforts to help people struggling with addiction." Breed added that the city will continue discussions with the federal government, which is expected to release rules about opening such sites as part of a settlement in a Philadelphia court case.

Under federal law, it is currently a felony to operate a space to distribute or use a controlled substance. President Joe Biden co-authored the federal statute when he was a senator.

According to the outlet, in January "the city opened a facility called the Tenderloin Center under an emergency ordinance declared by Mayor London Breed that morphed into a de-facto safe consumption site." The site was run in part by the nonprofit HealthRight360 which "drew harsh scrutiny for an apparent lack of success in connecting guests to substance use treatment," and is scheduled to close at the end of the year.

Last December, former New York City Democrat Mayor Bill de Blasio and the New York City Department of Health ignored federal law and announced the opening of legalized heroin injection sites.

Proponents argue that supervised heroin injection sites and needle exchanges reduce overdoses, reduce the spread of disease, and cause addicts to seek treatment.

However, according to recent studies and data, these sites do the opposite.

A 2020 study from the Alberta government on the province's Safe Consumption Sites (SCS) f0und sites result in increased calls to police, lack of response from police, increased needle debris on public and private property, increased crime, increased overdose deaths, and minimal amounts of users seeking treatment.

Democrats are attempting to decriminalize drug use nationwide, as Oregon did with disastrous results. Many cities such as Seattle have essentially decriminalized drug use because the progressive city and district attorneys refuse to prosecute drug crimes.

In 2021, the Rhode Island General Assembly passed legislation aimed at opening the first heroin injection sites in the US.