Unsafe “safe” Injection Sites
A video showing what the inside of a “safe” injection site looks like has gone viral. Kevin Dahlgren, who uploaded the video taken at a premises in Vancouver BC, Canada, writes,“Inside a ‘safe’ injection site. The most chaotic environment I have ever been in. People passed out in bowls of cereal, women screaming behind doors guarded by others, overdoses, crying etc. Staff were nowhere. It was horrifying.”
It’s worth noting that New York City opened the first publicly recognized safe injection site in 2021. This was before the crush of Biden’s illegal aliens were streaming through the border with fentanyl. This was before Mayor Adams’ legalizing weed and allowing illegal weed shops to flood formerly safe and wealthy enclaves. Understand this - Mayor Adams wants more “safe” injection sites. Scroll back up and re-watch the video and wrap your head around what this means will be in your neighborhood - or your neighbors.
Presently, there are two “safe” injection sites in New York City; one in East Harlem and one in Washington Heights. Nonprofit, On Point NYC, runs both. Allegedly with clean needles and naloxone to reverse overdoses but users have to bring their own drugs to the sites - apparently that is the red line.
Here are some questions. Do these “safe” sites save lives and improve the community? Of course not. Democratic District Attorney Michael McMahon for Richmond County, Staten Island, stated the obvious in 2022, “These centers cause far more harm than good. The simple fact is that two safe injection sites have existed in New York City for the past year, and in that time fatal overdoses have reached new highs and the quality of life for residents who live near these centers has reached new lows.” The Health Department released new provisional data on drug overdose deaths in New York City; there’s an increase of 78 percent since 2019. The overwhelming majority of these deaths involve opioids, including prescription opioid medications and heroin, but synthetic opioids such as fentanyl are heavily weighted. Remember, Adams wants more.
What do we know about On Point NYC? It “vigorously advocates for social justice.” Sam Rivera, the Executive Director, says, “No one has to die of a drug overdose. Harm reduction isn't a radical and untested experiment. The data and evidence are clear.” NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan parrots a similar word salad; “The facts are clear — overdose prevention centers save lives. Overdose prevention centers are an evidence-based approach to harm reduction we must authorize, invest in, and expand to combat our overdose epidemic. We applaud On Point NYC for their vital work in this space and thank its philanthropic partners for their transformative support and generosity.”
Actually, the data isn’t clear. The National Library of Medicine says, “Harm reduction is a controversial model for treating drug users, with little formal research available on its operation and effectiveness.” Long-term effects of these sites on addicts are unknown. Whether overdose deaths occur at the sites or not isn’t an indicator of “harm reduction” because the user can overdose as soon as he leaves, based on use at the facility. Also, what about the social norms?
No matter, it’s full steam ahead when it comes to Democrats blowing through taxpayers’ money and degrading constituents' quality of life every time they have another dystopian dream. Per 2022 IRS filings, On Point NYC has $9.09 million in assets and $7.5 million in revenue. It has a $14 million budget made up mainly of government grants - funded with taxpayers’ money which then increases taxes.
So, what do the taxpayers get in return for these “safe” injection sites? Fear, for one thing. The East Harlem site caused parental outrage when it opened right across the street from a daycare for toddlers. Imagine lecturing your kids not to do drugs, only to bring them to school and pass by heroin addicts and crackheads that are enabled not just by government, but ultimately, voters and taxpayers. Imagine streets littered with needles and drug paraphernalia.
New York City is wracked with crime, only because of Democrat pro-criminal policies. Stores are closing and firing employees. Swathes of shuttered businesses have become de facto homeless shelters and drug dens. And the Big Apple holds top place for outmigration. It seems like the only reason to champion “safe” injection sites in residential areas is to destroy those areas and expand bureaucracy.
Nonprofits are becoming a mirthless joke. Remember Thrive NYC? It was billed as a comprehensive mental health roadmap for providing treatment to those with mental health issues. De Blasio’s wife, Chirlane McCray, inexplicably was at the helm of this operation that can’t account for $1 billion dollars. Kathryn Garcia, former Department of Sanitation commissioner and one of de Blasio’s longest-serving senior officials said,
“I do not have any idea where the billion went,”
There are 46,595 total nonprofits in New York City. Manhattan has the largest number of registered organizations at over 20,000, followed by Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island. Look at the state of this city. Think about who is benefitting - it isn't taxpayers.