This week the California State legislature passed and sent to the Governor’s desk SB57, introduced by Senator Scott Wiener, which authorizes the County and City of San Francisco, the County and City of Los Angeles, and the City of Oakland to approve safe consumption sites, dubbed “Overdose Prevention Programs” (OPPs). The authorization remains in effect until January 1, 2028. Any jurisdiction that establishes an OPP must contract with an independent third party, using private funds, to conduct a peer-reviewed study on the impacts of the program and submit results to the Governor’s office no later than January 15, 2027.

This bill was passed almost exactly one year after Rhode Island’s Governor signed similar legislation. Last November, the City of New York authorized two safe consumption sites. A privately-funded organization in Philadelphia, authorized by the City Council, has been attempting to establish a site called Safehouse since 2018, but the organization’s efforts have thus far been thwarted by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

California’s action is the latest attempt to apply a proven harm reduction tool used by much of the developed world (a total of 40 are now approved in Canada), though federally banned in the U.S. by a law called the “Crack House Statute” (21 U.S.C Sec. 856), which prohibits people from renting, leasing, using, or maintaining a place for the purpose of consuming controlled substances. Thus far the Biden DOJ has not acted against Rhode Island or New York City.

As drug overdose deaths multiply, more state and local governments are flouting federal law to save lives. Hopefully these efforts will culminate in Congress repealing the Crack House Statute and getting the federal government out of the way of people trying to save lives and prevent the spread of disease in their communities.