safe injection sites

The city’s program uses scanners that you’d typically find in a graduate school chemistry labs, allowing them to detect fentanyl or other dangerous substances in the drug supply.

In the past, Gov. Kathy Hochul has refrained from explicitly denying her support for these types of programs, which are also known informally as safe injection sites.

City officials are debating a pilot program that would pay people to help keep needles off of sidewalks and out of parks.

The New York City centers in Harlem and Washington Heights are already saving lives, intervening in 43 overdoses during their first two weeks of operation.

The two centers will allow people to use drugs such as heroin under the care of medical professionals, while giving them access to addiction treatment and other services.

Spoiler: The Biden Administration

"The police have to do their jobs, and they have to arrest people who deserve to be arrested. If somebody is openly injecting drugs on a city street, they should be arrested," the governor said.

'Cuomo is now standing farther to the right on this issue than a federal judge.'

Pennsylvania appears to be leading New York in the effort to open safe injection facilities.

The governor's approach to combating the opioid epidemic is full of "watered down, under-funded and ultimately half-steps that do not go far enough," according to advocates.