Over the past decade, there have not been any serious plans for a safe injection site in Bucks County that has become public. However, that has not stopped the issue from spilling over from Philadelphia and into Bucks County.
All three Bucks County Commissioners – Diane Ellis-Marseglia, Bob Harvie, and Gene DiGirolamo – on Wednesday agreed draft a resolution opposing safe injection sites anywhere in the county at their next public meeting. DiGirolamo, a Republican, introduced the effort and it was supported by Marseglia and Harvie, both Democrats.
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A safe injection site, which exist in Australia, Europe, and Canada, are supervised spaces that offer a hygienic and clean location for drug users to use illegal substances intravenously. The idea is to provide safe environments for users with medical staff nearby, reduce the strain on public services, offer pathways to getting clean, and cut down on the nuisance of outdoor illegal drug use. The sites are part of a harm reduction approach, which some studies has shown in helpful.
Safe injection site critics often raise alarm over potential crime and drug use that could come wherever they are proposed.
The issue has gained national attention after a safe injection site in Philadelphia came close to opening.
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Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, has come out against the plan in the past, but he added he wouldn’t put up roadblocks against it.
The U.S. Department of Justice, however, is using the courts to try to stop a safe injection site from opening in Philadelphia and has threatened law enforcement action.
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On Wednesday inside the Commissioners’ meeting in Doylestown Borough, Paul Clymer, a former Republican state representative from West Rockhill Township in the upper end, brought up the issue during public comment.
“A safe injection site is a disaster for any community,” he said, adding it would be an “open invitation” for drug use.
Clymer said he is against safe injection sites and worried that one could come to the county.
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Ellis-Marseglia, who is the chairperson of the Commissioners, said safe injection sites were an “important issue to all of us.” She also stated she does not know any officeholder in the county who is in favor.
“We’re going to do something to let you know we’re against them,” she assured Clymber.
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DiGirolamo said safe injection sites are a “bad idea” and he supports recovery efforts.
Republicans in Bucks County put out literature in 2018 and in 2019 stating that Democrats had an agenda to bring safe injection sites. Fliers urged Republican voters to “keep Bucks County safe.”
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After the fliers came out, Democratic leaders said they did not support safe injection sites in the county.
“No one that I’m aware of — no Democrat or Republican — has ever talked about putting a heroin injection site in Bucks County in any way,” Bucks County Democratic Committee Chairperson John Cordisco told the Bucks County Courier Times last year. “We do not support injection sites. Injection sites don’t deal with treatment of addiction.”
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Bucks County Republican Committee Chair Pat Poprik put out a statement Wednesday lauding DiGirolamo for his stance on safe injection sites.
“The attempted establishment of drug-injection sites in Philadelphia would normalize the use of deadly drug in our communities, violate longstanding federal law, and take us a step back in our fight to free our communities from this scourge. These sites have no place in Bucks County,” she said, commending efforts to fight the opioid epidemic in the county.
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