On September 14th, the Philadelphia City Council cast a surprise 13-1 vote banning so-called “safe injection sites.” The vote took place just as the non-profit group Safehouses was set to open drug-user safe spaces. These would be “supervised” sites where drug addicts could “safely” inject themselves with dangerous illegal narcotics.
However, Philadelphia’s radical mayor, Jim Kenney, vetoed the ban. This has now been countered with a 14-1 vote to override the veto.
Technically, the ban leaves the possibility open. It just makes it extremely difficult. The sites would be banned under zoning laws. To open one, the local community would need to vote on a zoning variance. This is seen as unlikely to occur.
Meanwhile, the Pennsylvania State Senate voted 41-9 to ban the sites statewide last May. All Republicans and a majority of Democrats voted in favor of the ban. It has yet to be taken up by the House.
In a shocking twist, a key figure in the fight to legalize “safe injection sites” in New York City was just randomly murdered.
Ryan Carson worked for the New York Public Interest Research Group and was a high-profile activist who was seen as instrumental in bringing about New York City’s three supervised safe spaces for drug addicts. Carson was randomly stabbed to death at a bus stop in Brooklyn yesterday.
The suspect is described as a Black male who was acting erratic. He approached Carson and allegedly asked, “What are you looking at.” Then, he fatally stabbed him. The perp is currently still at large.
Many are speculating that the perp was high on illegal narcotics.
