PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia nonprofit group says it will open the nation's first supervised injection site to combat overdose deaths next week after a federal judge rejected Justice Department efforts to block it.
U.S. District Judge Gerald McHugh in a final ruling Tuesday says the Safehouse group's plan doesn’t violate federal drug laws.
He says the intent is to save lives, not encourage drug use, as the city struggles with about 1,100 annual overdose deaths per year.
U.S. Attorney William McSwain calls the plan “a radical experiment” and vows to appeal. Safehouse board member Ronda Goldfein says she's grateful the court again found that “saving lives is not a crime.”
