Philly lawmakers will vote this week whether to prohibit supervised drug consumption sites in most of the city

Philadelphia lawmakers are expected to vote this week on whether to prohibit supervised drug consumption sites in most of the city, the latest and most dramatic step that local elected officials are taking to restrict the opening of a facility.

The vote comes as the nonprofit spearheading plans to open a site in Philadelphia remains embroiled in litigation, and as the political environment has already jeopardized the future of a supervised drug consumption site in the city.

City Council is scheduled to vote Thursday — during its first meeting of the fall session — on a bill drafted by Councilmember Quetcy Lozada, whose Kensington-based district is home to one of the nation’s largest open-air drug markets.

At least 11 Council members appear to support the legislation, more than the nine-vote majority that is required for passage.

If Council approves the bill, it could greatly imperil the future of a supervised drug consumption site in Philadelphia, and it would represent a blow to outgoing Mayor Jim Kenney, who has for years endorsed the idea as part of his administration’s strategy to curtail overdose deaths. Philadelphia saw its highest-ever number of fatal overdoses in 2021 with 1,276 deaths.

Kenney is term-limited and leaves office in January. He will be replaced by the winner of the November mayoral election, which Democrat Cherelle Parker is heavily favored to win. Parker strongly opposes supervised drug consumption sites.

Here’s what to know:

Supervised drug consumption sites, also known as supervised injection sites, are facilities where people can use drugs under the supervision of a health care provider. Clinicians monitor patients for signs of overdose and will revive them if they exhibit symptoms.

Such facilities do not provide drugs to patients, but may provide equipment for safer drug use.

The proposed City Council bill, known as a zoning overlay, designates “narcotics injection sites” as a prohibited use. That means that supervised drug consumption sites would be banned from the nine districts included in the law.

It would apply to nine of the city’s 10 geographic Council districts. The only district not included is West Philadelphia’s 3rd District, which stretches from University City to Cobbs Creek.

An entity trying to open a drug consumption site could still seek permission from the Zoning Board of Adjustment, although they would have to present plans to registered community organizations first. The neighborhood group could then vote whether to support or reject the proposal. Those results are not legally binding, but the zoning board considers them — and the position of the Council person — when making a ruling.

“The most important opinion is the people that live in that community,” Lozada said, “and oftentimes those are the people whose voices are not heard.”

Ronda Goldfein, the vice president of Safehouse, the nonprofit that has worked to open a site in Philadelphia, said she is disappointed in the bill.

“The effort to ban overdose prevention centers will not reduce public consumption of drugs, it won’t reduce litter, and it won’t decrease overdoses,” she said. “We’re in an overdose crisis in Philadelphia, and instead of presenting some evidence-based initiative or even some evidence that suggests this initiative doesn’t work, we’ll ban a place where people could bring their drug use inside.”

The legislation would not apply to facilities that provide medically assisted drug therapy, such as methadone clinics.

Safehouse has been involved in a lengthy legal battle. In 2018, former U.S. Attorney Bill McSwain sued in federal court to block Safehouse from opening, saying it violated federal law.

A federal judge initially ruled that the sites were legal because their purpose was to save lives, not facilitate drug use.

In 2020, Safehouse attempted to quietly open a facility in South Philadelphia, but faced pushback and the plans were scuttled.

» READ MORE: State Senate approves ban of supervised injection sites in Pa.

Later, a federal appeals court ruled that the sites were illegal, and the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal. The nonprofit went back to court on additional legal claims, including that they had a religious right to provide lifesaving care like overdose prevention.

After President Joe Biden was elected, Safehouse and federal authorities engaged in settlement talks for months. Those talks failed in late July, and the two sides will go to court again.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers in Harrisburg has also sought to ban the facilities statewide. The Republican-controlled state Senate voted to do so, but that bill hasn’t been taken up by the Democratic-controlled House.

Only two other facilities operate in America, both in New York. Staff there say that, since their opening in November 2021, staff have intervened to treat more than 1,000 overdoses.

Sam Rivera, the executive director of OnPoint NYC, which runs both sites, said the sites aim to save lives amid an unprecedented overdose crisis and decrease the public disorder that stems from open-air drug use.

“Take [open-air drug use] and all the interruption of a neighborhood that comes with it — the spread of possible diseases, having syringes and other hazardous waste in the community,” he said. “An overdose prevention site brings all that indoors.”

A U.S. Attorney in New York, however, has said he could possibly take legal action against the sites. Rhode Island is the only state in the country whose governor has signed a bill legalizing supervised drug consumption sites. They are expected to open next year.

The sites also provide services like showers, meals, and regular medical care, Rivera said — which can help clients get healthier and make more considered decisions about their drug use, including entering treatment.

Lozada is the driving force behind the bill, which has seven cosponsors.

In an interview Tuesday, she said she visited Harlem over the summer and was troubled by the impact OnPoint NYC had on the surrounding neighborhood. She said she witnessed people injecting drugs around the corner, saw human feces on the street, and spoke to concerned business owners in the area.

She said she’d prefer Philadelphia address the situation in Kensington with a law enforcement-driven approach and would be in favor of involuntarily committing people in addiction to stabilization programs.

“We’re in a different place right now because there is political will,” Lozada said. “There is an interest in bringing the residents of Kensington-Harrowgate relief, and giving them the opportunity to be a healthy community.”

When the bill was first introduced, it applied only to five of the city’s 10 geographic districts. But other Council members expressed support, and the bill has since been amended to include nine.

This is because Council adheres to a powerful tradition called councilmanic prerogative, which means that, members generally defer to district Council members to make land-use decisions about their own districts.

Members have increasingly used zoning overlays as a way to pursue policy priorities within their districts. Critics say the strategy creates an inconsistent patchwork of rules across the city.

The 3rd District, the only that’s not included in the legislation, is represented by Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, a progressive who is not expected to vote Thursday. Her office said she is out of town for a family matter.

At least one Council member is expected to vote against the legislation: Kendra Brooks, a member of the progressive Working Families Party who represents the city at-large.

“With a crisis this deadly, my focus is on finding the strategies that will prevent people from dying,” she said in a statement, “and I can’t support permanently banning a tool that is proven to save lives.”

The bill would then go to Kenney. Spokesperson Sarah Peterson would not say whether he would sign it, saying in a statement that “the administration remains supportive of the overdose prevention model and would welcome the opportunity to support safe and effective operation, following a robust community engagement and outreach process.”

“This is not the time to limit our options,” she said.

Inquirer staff writer Jake Blumgart contributed.