Rob McKenna: Seattle ‘should wait’ on plans for safe injection sites
Feb 21, 2019, 4:01 PM
(AP)
(AP)
As the City of Seattle pushes forward on plans to establish safe injection sites for heroin use, a recent court case in Philadelphia could very well provide a preview of what it may face in terms of a legal challenge from the federal government.
RELATED: ‘Dozens’ of underground safe injection sites in Seattle
Essentially, federal prosecutors in Philadelphia are going after Safehouse, a nonprofit looking to open a safe injection site in the City of Brotherly Love. The civil lawsuit is a joint case between Pennsylvania-based prosecutors and the U.S. Department of Justice.
It also marks the first time the federal government has ever litigated against safe injection sites, making for a precedent — and possibly a warning — for cities like Seattle.
But what exactly are the feds arguing in this case? Former Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna provided KIRO Radio some insight.
“They’re saying that operating safe injection sites violates the federal Controlled Substances Act, which makes it unlawful to manage or control any place for the purpose of unlawfully using a controlled substance,” McKenna told Dave Ross on Seattle’s Morning News.
This is also known as the crackhouse statute, originally written to go after the owners of properties used by addicts to consume drugs.
Despite the original intent, though, the law doesn’t differentiate between a crackhouse and a facility managed by a nonprofit like Safehouse.
“It doesn’t matter that it’s operated or owned by a nonprofit with public funding,” McKenna noted. “What matters is the federal statute says you cannot manage or control any place for the purpose of using a controlled substance.”
To that, Dave brought up an interesting point.
“Why couldn’t — in a slightly alternate universe — a place where people get together to get high simply be called a bar?” he posited to McKenna.
That’s of course largely due to the fact that alcohol is first and foremost legal, and widely accepted by most as a standard fixture in popular culture.
From Philadelphia to Seattle
This opening salvo from the federal government against safe injection sites has the potential to make things difficult for Seattle before its own program even gets off the ground.
“It’s going to make it hard to find property to use,” said McKenna. “I think the original concept in Seattle was to try to locate a safe injection side on rented private property, and they’ve been having trouble finding a site because owners of property are worried about having it seized by the federal government.”
Moving forward in Seattle, McKenna advises caution, especially as this legal battle in Philadelphia plays out.
RELATED: Will a new lawsuit impact Seattle’s plan for safe injection sites?
“I think they should wait,” he said.
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Tune in to KIRO Newsradio weekdays at 5am for Dave Ross on Seattle's Morning News.
