Gov: Inject sites ‘complicated’

GOV. CUOMO ON Friday didn’t rule out the idea of the state allowing the city to provide supervised drug-injection sites for addicts, though he said a slew of questions must first be answered.

“It’s a complicated matter,” Cuomo told reporters in the city.

Mayor de Blasio is supporting a plan to open four injection sites as part of a one-year pilot program in the city that is meant to prevent overdose deaths.

The state Health Department would be among those who have to sign off on such a plan.

Cuomo said the department received the city’s proposal Thursday and must review it before deciding how to proceed. Legal questions include federal law that makes it a crime to run a location that facilitates drug use. Community and law enforcement questions also need answers.

“The goal of reducing infectious diseases, getting people into treatment is a laudable goal,” he said. “How you get there is obviously the question.”

He didn’t say whether he personally supports the sites.

The city’s proposed injection sites would be in places where there are needle exchanges. No city dollars would be used.