Let cities try heroin site

A crisis calls for urgent, unconventional solutions

In response to the heroin addiction epidemic some cities have considered something referred to as a “supervised injection facility.” Addicts would be allowed to inject heroin in their veins in a facility where clean needles would be provided and where they would be able to become known to people who might help treat their addiction. Medical professionals would be on hand, able to reverse an overdose.

It’s a drastic solution, and not likely one that would appeal to smaller cities and communities, no matter how bad the opioid addiction threat becomes.

But it is being considered in big cities, among them Philadelphia.

And rather than taking a waitand-see approach, the U.S. Department of Justice has responded with a heavy hand.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein last month warned that cities that create medically-supervised drug injection will face swift and aggressive legal action. As Mr. Rosenstein pointed out, possession of heroin is illegal.

In an interview with National Public Radio, Mr. Rosenstein said providing a place for people to use heroin and other illegal substances is a violation of federal law.

But more than 72,000 Americans died from overdoses last year, exceeding any one-year death total during the AIDS crisis. And safe-injection facilities have been proven to reduce harm among heroin users — though there is no evidence of a dramatic reduction.

In a safe-injection facility, the medical community has a chance to intervene with at-risk populations, such as people who are HIV positive. The American Medical Association has endorsed launching supervised injection site pilot programs.

Congress should consider legislation that would allow supervised injection sites, on a pilot basis. In the meantime, the Justice Department should work with states that want to try them. The potential benefit outweighs the harm.