A federal judge ruled on Tuesday afternoon that the nonprofit Safehouse would not violate federal law by opening an overdose prevention site. The legal memorandum clears the way for the nation’s first supervised injection facility to open in Philadelphia.
https://www.safehousephilly.org/sites/default/files/attachments/2020-02/combinepdf.pdf
Safehouse leaders aren’t wasting any time. The nonprofit plans to open its first site in South Philly — soon.
Exactly where has not yet been formally announced, but sources told NBC10 it will be inside the Constitution Health Plaza at the corner of Broad and McKean streets.
“It’s important to us that people have safe and confidential overdose prevention services and that the neighbors are not disturbed,” Safehouse VP Ronda Goldfein told Billy Penn. “For these reasons, we will not disclose the addresses of any our sites.”
U.S. Attorney William McSwain, a dedicated opponent of the concept, had argued that the proposed safe injection site violated a section of the Controlled Substances Act known as the “crackhouse” statute. The 1980s legislation makes it a felony to open a facility with the intent to manufacture, distribute or use any controlled substance.
In his Tuesday ruling, the judge said McSwain’s “focus on factual nuances overlooks the complexity of determining the proper application of the law,” noting that Safehouse would not be hiding illegal substances on its campus.
“There is nothing procedurally improper in granting the declaratory relief sought by Safehouse,” wrote U.S. District Judge Gerald McHugh.
In the memo, the judge also poked holes in the federal prosecutor’s assertion that Safehouse would not be breaking the law if it operated a mobile site — but that allowing drug users into a building violated the crackhouse statute.
“We respectfully disagree with the District Court’s ruling and plan to appeal immediately,” McSwain said in a statement. “What Safehouse proposes is a radical experiment that would invite thousands of people onto its property for the purpose of injecting illegal drugs. In our view, this would plainly violate the law and we look forward to presenting our case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.”
If that doesn’t go his way, McSwain’s next shot at an appeal would be to the U.S. Supreme Court.
McHugh’s statement affirms his earlier ruling from October that the Philly endeavor would not violate the federal statute by providing a space for people to use drugs under medical supervision.
That earlier ruling wasn’t quite enough to give the nonprofit the full green light, so in January — despite the threat of an impending appeal from McSwain — the Safehouse team asked for explicit approval to open a supervised injection site. That’s what McHugh handed down on Tuesday.
The nonprofit needs more than just a legal blessing to open. Specifically, Safehouse still needs to secure some money and a physical location — both efforts that board member and former Pa. Gov. Ed Rendell said had been hampered by the site’s pending legality.
Last month, the nonprofit only had $200,000 in the bank, Goldfein confirmed — a fraction of the projected annual $1 million annual operating costs for the facility.
