Congressional Researchers Provide Options To Allow Safe Drug Consumption Sites, Including Marijuana-Style Budget Amendment
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In a new report, congressional researchers highlighted the "uncertainty" of the federal government's position on safe drug consumption sites, while pointing out that lawmakers could temporarily resolve the issue by advancing an amendment modeled after the one that has allowed medical marijuana laws to be implemented without Justice Department interference. As it stands, federal law has been interpreted in a way that makes it so the harm reduction centers, where people can use currently illicit drugs in a medically supervised environment, are prohibited. That policy is at the center of a federal lawsuit that the Justice Department initiated under the Trump administration to challenge a Philadelphia-based non-profit that sought to open a safe consumption site. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) addressed the issue in a report released on Tuesday that broadly discusses opioid regulations under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), with about half the length of the document being devoted to supervised consumption site policy. As CRS pointed out, New York City opened the first locally sanctioned harm reduction centers in the U.S. late last year, and officials have already reported positive results in saving lives. "While DOJ actively opposed the operation of supervised consumption sites under the Trump Administration, to date the Biden Administration has not sought to invoke the CSA against such facilities," the report says. "In February 2022, DOJ stated that it was "evaluating supervised consumption sites, including discussions with state and local regulators about appropriate guardrails for such sites, as part of an overall approach to harm reduction and public safety." "In the meantime, uncertainty remains as to the legality of supervised consumption sites under the CSA," CRS said. "Congress could resolve that uncertainty by enacting legislation. If Congress decided to allow supervised consumption sites to operate, it could consider the breadth of such authorization. One option would…
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Source : Congressional Researchers Provide Options To Allow Safe Drug Consumption Sites, Including Marijuana-Style Budget Amendment
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