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September 27, 2023
TO THE PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA:
For the following reasons, I am returning herewith to your Honorable Body as disapproved, Bill Number 230410, introduced into City Council on May 11, 2023, by Councilmember Lozada. Bill No. 230410 amends Chapter 14-500 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Overlay Zoning Districts," to add an overlay district pertaining to “injection sites for narcotics,” all under certain terms and conditions.
This legislation is aimed at what the bill calls “narcotic injection sites,” or medical facilities where individuals may use drugs (theirs, not acquired on location) under the supervision of professional staff trained to prevent fatal overdoses. The Administration refers to these facilities as Overdose Prevention Centers (OPCs) because that is their primary purpose: preventing fatal drug overdoses.
Extensive scientific research on OPCs around the world has shown that OPCs save lives, improve access to treatment and recovery, and reduce public outdoor drug use and biohazardous waste in the surrounding areas. They do not promote drug use; they simply make it non-fatal. They do not encourage drug use out in the neighborhood; they bring it inside, where participants can also find connections to treatment, housing, medical care, and more.
Bill Number 230410 is therefore troublingly anti-science and misleading, not only blocking the opening of OPCs but also validating misplaced fears and fallacies about a lifesaving medical model that would benefit all members of the communities impacted by drug use.
There are many ways to ensure community input on the planning and implementation of any new initiative without the need for a zoning overlay. I agree that community conversations about how an OPC would be implemented are an appropriate expectation. What is not appropriate, given the facts detailed below, is handing the approval of any OPC at all to the loudest voices in the room. History has shown time and again that making the right policy choice - school desegregation, for example - cannot always be outsourced to public opinion if we hope to make progress as a society. We are the policymakers, and we have a responsibility to make the tough decisions.
In 2022, 1,413 people died from drug overdoses in Philadelphia. This number has risen every year since 2018. Meanwhile, New York City’s overdose prevention centers have intervened in 1,131 overdoses in less than 2 years. This Administration cannot help but wonder how many irreplaceable people are lost with each passing year that Philadelphia does not welcome the same opportunity.
As the overdose crisis grows, so do the disparities. While overdose deaths in Philadelphia have historically been highest among white individuals, beginning in 2021, overdose fatalities were highest among non-Hispanic Black individuals. The rise in stimulant-involved deaths - driving the increase in overall overdoses - disproportionately impacts non-Hispanic Black individuals. According to a new report soon to be released by the Department of Public Health, there was an 11 percent increase in fatal overdoses overall from 2021 to 2022 - but for non-Hispanic Black individuals, overdoses increased by nearly 20 percent.
We cannot stress enough that all street drugs - not just opioids - could be lethally contaminated and cause an overdose. We are not facing the same drug supply that we were even five years ago. The City’s outreach teams are working urgently to broaden and intensify their efforts to promote awareness and distribute life-saving tools like testing strips. And while OPCs will not save everybody, at a time like this it is disappointing that lawmakers would spend time and energy removing another effective tool from our toolbox of solutions.
I have personally visited OPCs in other countries before two sites opened in New York City, and I encourage all members of City Council to visit a facility to fully understand this critical tool’s potential role in our effort to save lives and benefit communities. I also encourage Councilmembers to speak with families who have lost their loved ones to overdose, and to hear their ideas and wishes for the City’s response to the overdose crisis. I also recommend speaking with addiction and harm reduction experts to learn more about current research on drug use and which public health policies have been most effective to help individuals succeed in treatment and recovery. There is no question that treatment and social services must be part of any citywide overdose prevention strategy. There is also no question that recovery depends first on survival.
For these reasons, I will not put my name and signature on Bill Number 230410.
Respectfully,
JAMES F. KENNEY
Mayor
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