Surgeon General Rejects Supervised Injection Sites: ‘Safer Doesn’t Mean Safe’

Surgeon General Jerome Adams on Wednesday rejected the provision of supervised injection sites, facilities where people can inject themselves with illegal drugs under medical supervision, as a response to the opioid crisis, citing safety concerns.

“I’m not bashing any particular person or group,” Adams said at the libertarian Cato Institute in Washington, D.C., “But the truth is, I have looked at the data, and I have seen little to no data suggesting they are overall more effective than expanding syringe services programs.”

“Safer doesn’t mean safe,” the surgeon general added about the so-called “safe” injection sites. “People can still leave and fall or drive away and crash.”