Vermont county considers safe injection site for drug users
BURLINGTON, Vt. — Vermont’s most populous county is joining a handful of communities around the country considering setting up supervised injection sites for heroin and other opioid users to reduce overdoses and get more people into treatment.
Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George has asked a committee of law enforcement and health care professionals to evaluate the possibility of such a site.
“I want to make sure that I have the people, the best people, in making that decision and telling me whether or not they think it’s something that we can do here,” she said Wednesday.
Vancouver, British Columbia, is running the only such site in North America. Seattle and King County in Washington state are moving ahead with plans for such a site but no location has been identified, said James Apa, communications director for Public Health-Seattle & King County.