NY mayor’s call for heroin injection site divides experts

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — An upstate New York mayor’s proposal to consider allowing heroin users to shoot up under medical supervision has divided drug reform groups and addiction experts.

A supervised injection site is one of several steps Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick formally unveiled Wednesday to address a wave of opioid addiction. Similar facilities operate in Canada, Australia and Europe.

But Kevin Sabet, a former drug policy adviser to three presidents, says he believes injection sites could be a precursor to efforts to fully legalize drugs like heroin. Other critics say the priority should be more treatment programs.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration has yet to weigh in on Myrick’s idea. Cuomo calls heroin use “a statewide crisis.”

• Health
• Addiction Substance Abuse
• Svante Myrick
• heroin