Pubdate: Tue, 15 Aug 2017
Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer (WA)
Copyright: 2017 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Contact: P.O. Box 1909, Seattle, WA 98111-1909
Website: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/408

ANOTHER KING COUNTY CITY MAY VOTE TO BAN SAFE INJECTION SITES

The growing movement against allowing so-called safe drug injection
sites is moving to another city.

The Kent City Council will vote Tuesday night on a proposed moratorium
on "community health engagement locations," also called supervised
injection facilities.

Renton, Federal Way, Auburn and Bellevue have already passed
ordinances banning such sites. The ordinance going before Kent's City
Council says there's no evidence that these sites reduce drug addiction.

The Seattle-King County Health Department says someone dies from a
heroin or opioid drug overdose every 36 hours in King County. That's
more than auto crashes and ranks as the No. 1 cause of preventable
death.

To counter the problem, the county wants to create two supervised
injection sites - one in Seattle and a second somewhere else in King
County.

But since the county is only willing to consider cities where it's not
been expressly banned - Kent is now the latest city to consider a 
moratorium.

The ordinance going before Kent's City Council says there's no
evidence that these sites reduce drug addiction, and they do
inherently attract criminal activity.

But county health officials, in recommending the sites, say they could
help addicts who not yet ready or capable of treatment, giving them
access to treatment and reducing the public safety hazards associated
with public drug injecting.

The Kent City Council plans to vote on a six-month ban on injection
sites - to give time to hold a public hearing. The Tuesday night
meeting begins at 7 p.m.

Meanwhile, a group has turned in petitions for Initiative 27, which
would prevent any public money from being spent on safe injection
sites anywhere in King County. The group says they have enough
signatures to place the initiative on the ballot.
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MAP posted-by: Matt