Advocates of the proposal say it would prevent overdoses, slow the spread of HIV and inspire drug users to seek help, while proponents say safe injection sites would create an "open drug scene."
A federal appeals court ruled the effort by nonprofit Safehouse to open a "supervised injection site" to prevent overdose deaths is laudable but illegal under the so-called federal crack house law.
Efforts to combat Philadelphia's opioid crisis with a supervised injection site could be stymied by a portion of federal law meant to protect neighborhoods during the crack epidemic of the 1980s.
The Justice Department has mounted a legal challenge to block the effort, claiming such a site violates federal drug laws and would enable opioid users.
The U.S. government is intervening to stop the creation of a medical facility in Philadelphia where people could inject heroin without risk of overdose. Canada and Europe already have such sites.
A nonprofit in Philadelphia is making plans to open a supervised drug injection site — which is against the law. Their response to justice department threats of a crackdown? "Bring it on."
A standoff is heating up between the Trump administration and local leaders who are trying to open facilities where people can use opioids under the eye of medical staff.
In Vancouver, drug users run their own safe injection sites. Public health officials are taking note of how they operate — peers helping each other stay alive in a judgement-free zone.
More than a dozen cities from San Francisco to New York are trying to open safe injection sites for heroin users. But worries about a crackdown from the Justice Department have local leaders on edge.
