Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Squashes Hope State Will Embrace Supervised Injection Sites
Despite evidence in favor of the sites, U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling says they normalize drug use and addiction.
WBUR:
'Supervised Injection Sites Are A Terrible Idea,' U.S. Attorney Lelling Says
U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling, the top federal law enforcement official in Massachusetts, is further dashing any chance of a supervised drug injection facility opening in the state. ...Lelling also talked about the discrepancy between federal laws against marijuana and state laws allowing it. (Becker and Citorik, 7/20)
Meanwhile, in Ohio —
Columbus Dispatch:
Ohio Wants To Use Federal Grant Money For Needle-Exchange Programs
Citing a near-doubling in the number of HIV diagnoses associated with injection-drug use, the Ohio Department of Health has asked the federal government for authorization to fund syringe programs with grant money designated for HIV prevention. In 2017, 121 HIV diagnoses across the state were attributed to injection-drug use, about 12 percent of the 1,015 total infections, according to state documents dated July 5 that include the request to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Viviano, 7/20)
