The two candidates vying to represent District 7 on Boston City Council have different opinions about deploying safe injection sites as a way to address the city’s struggle with addiction and substance abuse. Their differing views come days after the Boston City Council signaled its openness to the facilities.
Rev. Miniard Culpepper and Said “Coach” Ahmed both advanced to represent the Roxbury-based district after a recount confirmed them as the top two vote-getters in the Sept. 9 preliminary election. The seat was vacated earlier this year after former Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson pleaded guilty to federal theft and wire fraud charges.
The district is one of three that contains a portion near the area known as “Mass. and Cass,” where Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard intersect and where the city’s struggle to help those dealing with homelessness, drug addiction and mental health problems has triggered public safety concerns.
While Ahmed said safe injection sites, where people would go to use pre-obtained drugs under medical supervision, are something he needs to look into more, Culpepper gave a full-throated endorsement.
“I think you almost have to have safe injection sites,” Culpepper said in an interview with GBH News.
Asked about opponents’ concerns that safe injection sites legitimize drug use, Culpepper replied, “I think that’s a fallacy. I don’t think it condones drug use.”
Culpepper pointed to an incident earlier this year in which a four-year-old in South Boston was pricked by a needle in a city park.
“I live on Seaver Street,” Culpepper said. “I’ve found needles. My dog has found needles in the yard. ... I think the safe injection sites give those that are struggling with the disease of addiction at least a safe place to properly dispose of those needles.”
Ahmed was less supportive.
“Those things are things that I personally need to do more research about to see what is the impacts, what is the benefits,” he told GBH News.
“I just want to see the full, the benefits and effects that it has for District 7, specifically District 7,” said Ahmed, adding that he wants to know details about potential locations for a facility if one is ultimately proposed for Boston.
“Where is this going to be exactly? Who [was] there before that?” he said.
It’s an issue that could come up during the term when one of the candidates is elected in November.
This week, the Boston City Council shot down a resolution rejecting such sites. Multiple councilors expressed support for the facilities as a way to help decentralize the problem in Boston.
John FitzGerald and Ed Flynn, councilors who represent the districts that touch parts of Mass. and Cass, and At-Large Councilor Erin Murphy voted in favor of the order opposing safe injection sites.
“We’re trending in the right direction, so let’s focus on the continuum of care system,” said FitzGerald of District 3, pointing to data that shows a more than 30% drop in opioid-related overdose deaths in Massachusetts last year.
Dozens of neighbors from the area surrounding Mass. and Cass lamented the state of the neighborhood at a public hearing earlier this month, given the population of drug users who often also struggle with homelessness. Multiple people from the area have expressed concern that if safe injection sites are approved for operation in Massachusetts, one will be placed in their neighborhood, forcing them to keep contending with the problem on their proverbial doorsteps.
The issue has been percolating at the State House. Last year, House and Senate lawmakers between the House and the Senate could not agree on the use of safe injection sites and ultimately declined to advance it as part of a compromise bill to address addiction and substance use disorder.
Last week, however, lawmakers with the state’s Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery heard testimony in overwhelming support of enabling them to open and operate in Massachusetts. That hearing came despite a declaration from the state’s top federal prosecutor, U.S. Attorney Leah Foley that safe injection sites, or also known as overdose prevention centers, are “categorically illegal.”
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has also said she supports the sites. A spokesperson says the city is not considering any proposals for safe injection sites.
