Former Pa. Gov. Ed Rendell Throws Gauntlet Over Philadelphia Safe Injection Site: 'Come And Arrest Me'

Former Gov. Ed Rendell, who is on the board of Safehouse, wants to move forward with a facility that would allow drug users to inject under the supervision of medical professionals. There has been a push for the safe injection sites in cities and states, but the movement has run up against federal officials who are adamantly opposed to the idea.

In Philadelphia, a battle between local officials and the Trump administration is heating up. In defiance of threats from the Justice Department, public health advocates in Philadelphia have launched a nonprofit to run a facility to allow people to use illegal drugs under medical supervision. It is the most concrete step yet the city has taken toward eventually opening a so-called supervised injection site. (Allyn, 10/10)

In other news on the crisis —

The number of opioid-overdose deaths in St. Louis and surrounding counties continued to rise in 2017, although the increase wasn’t as steep as in previous years. There were 760 opioid-related fatalities last year in St. Louis, St. Louis County and eight surrounding counties, a 7 percent increase from 2016, according to the St. Louis-based National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence. (Fentem, 10/10)

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