PHILADELPHIA — More than 60 prosecutors and other law enforcement officials have filed a court brief in support of a proposed supervised drug injection site that Philadelphia’s top federal prosecutor is trying to block from opening.
The officials say that Safehouse’s proposed injection site would prevent overdose deaths and help reduce the burden on the criminal justice system.
They contend that an aggressive law enforcement approach has worsened the opioid crisis.
State and local prosecutors and police officials from New York to Texas to California, as well as several former Justice Department officials, are supporting the site.
U.S. Attorney William McSwain has sued Safehouse, arguing it’s seeking to break the law and normalize the use of deadly drugs like heroin and fentanyl.
Philadelphia has the highest opioid death rate of any large U.S. city.
