Bellevue Considering Legislation On Opioid Injection Sites

BELLEVUE, WA - The Bellevue City Council may consider a resolution as soon as Aug. 7 to make it clear that safe-injection sites are not allowed under city code. The resolution comes as Seattle and King County work on a plan to open Community Health Engagement Locations (CHEL) for drug users. King County does not have any plans to place a CHEL in Bellevue, however.

At its study session Monday, the Council asked city staff to draft a resolution clarifying the city's land use position on CHELs. If the measure does not pass at the Aug. 7 meeting, it could come back before the Council in September.

In January, the Heroin and Prescription Opiate Addiction Task Force - a county-level 40-member group comprised of police chiefs, health officials, school officials, and tribal leaders - recommended opening two CHELs, along with other heroin mitigation measures. One site would be located in Seattle, the other would be somewhere in King County.

The safe-use sites - where technically any drug could be used - would centralize social and health services, and that, proponents say, would prevent overdose deaths and better link addicts with resources. But there has been fierce backlash against the idea. On Monday, a group pushing a ballot initiative that would ban safe-injection sites said it had gathered the 70,000 signatures needed to put the issue on the ballot.

State Rep. Morgan Irwin, R-Enumclaw, who is also a Seattle police officer, has been one of the most vocal opponents of CHELs. Irwin has said that the sites would "perpetuate a very dangerous drug culture."

But it doesn't seem the region's drug problem could get much more dangerous.

Dr. Jeffrey Duchin, King County's public health officer, said that a person dies or overdoses on an opioid about every 36 hours in the county.

"CHEL sites are not expected to solve our heroin and opioid drug crisis alone, but we do expect they will reduce overdose deaths and increase access to treatment. They are a sound part of a larger response strategy," Duchin said recently.

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