New York needs to learn from San Francisco’s drug failure

Medical provides on the OnPoint NYC protected injection web site in New York Metropolis.
AP Picture/Seth Wenig

Consideration, New York politicos — need proof that so-called protected injection websites do nothing to assist communities struggling within the opioid epidemic? Look no additional than San Francisco. 

Mayor London Breed has organized to close down the “Linkage Heart” within the coronary heart of the Tenderloin district — the place she final 12 months declared a state of emergency as medicine flooded the realm and killed its residents.

Linkage was supposed to assist addicts discover therapy. But, of the 23,000-odd it “helped” from final April by this January, it referred solely 18 for therapy. The remaining possible used it as a taking pictures gallery and moved on.

San Francisco noticed 49 overdose deaths the month Linkage opened — and the identical stage in months that adopted. Which means Linkage made no actual distinction.

This ugly failure value the town’s taxpayers a whopping $19 million. But Breed, insanely, says she’ll possible arrange one other “protected consumption” web site within the close to future (although that could possibly be an empty promise). 

New York, which has lately begun to embrace its personal protected injection websites, must rethink this horrible transfer instantly. Particularly given the tragic 78% enhance in overdose deaths it noticed for the primary six months of 2021 in comparison with pre-pandemic ranges. 

San Francisco Mayor London Breed is closing the town’s “Linkage Heart” injection web site after it was confirmed to be ineffective.

Picture by YUKI IWAMURA/AFP by way of Getty Photos

Numbers don’t lie, they usually facet with the skeptics right here: Serving to individuals shoot up does nothing to finish the opioid disaster. Websites like these, no matter they’re referred to as, aren’t efficient pathways out of habit. 

Which makes the town’s embrace of all of them the extra disturbing. Certainly, the tactic’s basic callousness is clearly seen within the absurd subway advertisements providing useful tips about use heroin “safely” (close to different stern advertisements urging you to maintain your masks on). 

Worse nonetheless, this idiocy appears to be like set to go nationwide. The Biden administration has signaled it is going to possible attempt to regulate such websites, moderately than crack down on them. 

Cities completely can do issues to combat this epidemic, like holding the strain on sellers by policing. The feds can combat traffickers — at the start by getting severe about border safety. The drug driving deaths, fentanyl, flows right here from Mexico.  

Injection websites and drug positivity solely convey extra demise and distress.