Despite calls from other local leaders to open supervised drug consumption sites in Massachusetts, Gov. Charlie Baker says he has no intention of going against federal policy.
Mayor Marty Walsh has advocated for safe injection sites as part of an ongoing effort to combat opioid abuse. Yet Baker says he can’t go against the federal direction of U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling, who vowed to crack down on the sites in a January op-ed in The Boston Globe.
“If people try to open up a safe injection site in Massachusetts, [Lelling] will prosecute them,” Baker said in an interview with Boston Public Radio Thursday. “They will be arrested and they will be prosecuted. I think that puts the onus on us to chase alternatives that we can actually implement. And this is one that, at least for the time being, is just going to be a non-starter.”
In the op-ed, Lelling also said he will treat opioid use differently than marijuana cases. Recreational marijuana use is still illegal under federal law.
"The federal law is a big deal,” Baker said. “And Lelling has made very clear ... to us and to others that his primary focus is on opioids, and that marijuana — recreational marijuana and medical marijuana — was not going to be a focus for his team and his administration.”
Walsh, who initially opposed safe injection sites, took a trip to Toronto in January that changed his mind. Baker said he hasn’t seen enough data to convince him that the sites would be effective.
"Where's the stuff that shows me something that implies that there's a pathway here to getting out from under the awful and terrible consequences of addiction?” Baker said. “The answer I got was, there is no data on that because the whole thing is completely anonymous."
