SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

Dori: There is nothing safe about injection sites

May 10, 2018, 6:00 PM | Updated: May 11, 2018, 10:10 am

safe injection site, insite, injection sites...

Injection booths at Insite, a safe injection site in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press via AP, File)

(Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press via AP, File)

A new study released yesterday by the University of Washington and King County Public Health shows that drug overdoses in King County are skyrocketing. Last year alone, 379 people in the county died of drug- and alcohol-related causes.

RELATED: We need to reclaim our language in Seattle

Now we’re finding out that there are three “underground” safe injection sites operating in Seattle, according to a report by KIRO 7. The people behind “safe injection sites” steal language again. There is no way to “safely” inject heroin.

If your three underground injection sites are solving problems, then why do we have a record number of deaths? Are you telling me the “safe” injection sites have not made the county a safer place?

If you want to stop the problem, you need to treat addiction. You need to stop building houses for homeless drug addicts and allowing people to shoot up inside them. On-demand treatment should be top priority, above housing. Helping heroin addicts and alcoholics get clean should be top priority. The record number of deaths in King County illustrates how misguided the region’s leaders are.

A record number of opiate deaths. A record number of people addicted. A record number of people on the streets. City of Seattle, you’re telling me that your policies are working?

FILE - The OpenAI logo is displayed on a cell phone in front of an image generated by ChatGPT's Dal...

Associated Press

Some guardrails on ChatGPT for Teens don’t work as promised, watchdog group says

Some of the guardrails that OpenAI included in its ChatGPT for Teens product don’t work as intended and the chatbot poses an “unacceptable risk” to children, according to a report Wednesday by Common Sense Media. The watchdog group urged OpenAI to restrict the chatbot to adults “until it can offer a safe, developmentally appropriate experience.” […]

11 minutes ago

king county audit urban family...

Luke Duecy

King County audit flags $261K in potential double-billing by nonprofit Urban Family

King County's audit highlights potential double-billing by Urban Family, raising questions about nonprofit funding and oversight.

12 minutes ago

FILE - Soldiers from the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment storm the grounds of the Soldier Readiness Ce...

Associated Press

As Army moves to execute Fort Hood shooter, questions about procedure linger

The former U.S. Army officer convicted of killing 13 people in the 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, is scheduled to be executed by firing squad in December in what would be the first military execution in more than 65 years. The announcement stunned an attorney who had represented Nidal Malik Hasan in a […]

19 minutes ago

Pro-Palestinian protesters march in Capitol Hill...

MyNorthwest Staff with Wire Reports

Pro-Palestinian march in Capitol Hill concludes with no arrests

A pro-Palestinian march in Capitol Hill has concluded with no arrests, police confirmed to KIRO Newsradio.

36 minutes ago

evacuation seattle fire...

MyNorthwest Staff

Queen Anne residents allowed back in building after evacuation for Carbon Monoxide

Lower Queen Anne residents have been cleared to reenter their building after SFD personnel investigated a carbon monoxide leak.

45 minutes ago

Seattle City Attorney Erika Evans sex trafficking guns...

Frank Lenzi

2 new prosecutor positions added to Seattle City Attorney’s Office

Two new prosecutor positions will help Seattle crack down on sex trafficking and address gun possession by people considered a danger to themselves or others.

1 hour ago

Dori: There is nothing safe about injection sites