Rhode Island is set to become the first state to pilot a safe-injection site program. The program would create injection sites around the state where drug addicts can safely use illegal intravenous drugs.

The state aims to codify the program in January and hopes to have its first sites up and running by March.

As accidental drug overdoses continue to climb, overdoses have become the leading reason for accidental deaths in the nation. The National Safety Council reports that Americans now have a higher chance of dying from accidental overdoses than from car accidents.

According to the CDC, there have been 70,630 deaths from drug overdoses in 2019, a 4% jump from the year before. Drugs laced with synthetic opioids like fentanyl are largely to blame for the spike. The CDC details that 72.9% of drug overdoses involve synthetic opioids.

While the nation begins to hold pharmaceutical companies responsible for the opioid epidemic, illegal drugs smuggled into the country are also to blame. Opioids laced with fatal quantities of fentanyl have made their way into the states from suppliers like Mexico and China and are blamed for being so dangerous that even a whiff of the powder could prove to be lethal. The Drug Enforcement Agency details that around 40% of illegal drugs that are tested for fentanyl contain a lethal dose of the synthetic agent. While fentanyl can provide a similar high to users as morphine, it is up to 100 times more potent.

Rhode Island’s response to the growing epidemic of opioid use is to create injection sites where addicts can safely use their drugs. The state explains that the facilities would provide users a sanitary place to use drugs with clean needles and trained staff. In the event of an overdose, trained staff would be equipped and able to administer Naloxone, a drug that quickly reverses the effects of an overdose. In addition to safe injection, the state hopes these injection facilities can help connect addicts with other necessary resources like housing and medical aid.

The program has quickly sparked controversy as many conservatives and some Democrats rebuke the idea of a safe-injection site to combat the opioid crisis. Some fear that such a facility will only perpetuate drug use and may even bring crime into the community. Rhode Island’s Democratic State Rep. Arthur Corvese called the idea a “moral oxymoron” and criticized the idea of having rules against illegal drugs, but then creating a safe space where they can be used recreationally.

Another Rhode Island Democrat State Rep., Edith Ajello, counters that “Supervised consumption sites can help to cut these losses,” referring to the thousands of deaths each year due to accidental overdose.

Ajello has publicly shared that following the overdose death of her best friend’s son during the pandemic, she became convinced that having a safe-injection site could help other addicts from suffering the same fate.

The Biden administration has acknowledged that harm reduction should be a priority in our nation’s war against drugs. Under Biden, the Office of National Drug Control Policy has for the first time named harm reduction as a method to battle the opioid epidemic. During previous administrations, the traditional approach to drug use has largely been criminalization. Ellen Glover, a campaign director at People’s Action, an initiative of over 40 organizations working to fight the epidemic, shared her support of safe-injection sites with the Wall Street Journal.

“Language is the first step. But true investment and support are actually what’s needed,” she maintains.

The federal government seemingly agrees with this approach as the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has added $30 million for supporting services that promote harm reduction programs and initiatives. The DEA has also lifted a moratorium on mobile opioid treatment programs, and Congress has also removed mandatory minimum sentencing if an individual is found in possession of a fentanyl-related substance.

Rhode Island hopes to implement a change in an effort that would reverse the effects the opioid epidemic has had in the state. In 2020, the state’s health department recorded a total of 384 overdose deaths.