California Governor Gavin Newsom (Democrat) vetoed a bill passed Monday by the Democrat-controlled state legislature to expand so-called “safe” drug use areas in the state’s major cities.
As Breitbart News reported earlier this month: “Democrats in the California State Legislature announced Tuesday that despite the highly publicized failure of one such place in San Francisco’s notorious Tenderloin neighborhood, it has passed a bill allowing the expansion of ‘safe’ drug use places in major cities. spent. . for the past few months.”
Bill SB 57 provided:
This bill allows, through January 1, 2028, the City and County of San Francisco, the County of Los Angeles, the City of Los Angeles, and the City of Oakland to approve organizations to implement overdose prevention programs for individuals who meet certain requirements. . This includes, but is not limited to, program personnel authorized and trained to provide a clean space supervised by trained personnel where drug users can use obtained drugs, provide sterile supplies, access or referral to treatment for substance use disorders, and emergency provision. administration of an opioid antagonist as defined by applicable law. … The bill exempts a person from civil liability, professional discipline, or available criminal penalties for, among other things, acting only in good faith, failing to act or fail to comply with an approved city or city and county overdose prevention program. . The bill states that the California Medical Board or the California Osteopathic Medicine Board has the power to take disciplinary action against a licensee associated with an overdose prevention program that violates the Medical Practices Act.
Newsom’s rare veto led to speculation about his future presidential ambitions:
If Governor Newsom were to sign the Safe Injection Sites Act…it’s easy to imagine negative publicity if he ran for president.
“Gavin Newsom admits to using drugs in San Francisco… Do we want that in Iowa?”
Whatever you think of the bill, politics is complex.
— Elex Michaelson (@Elex_Michaelson) 22 August 2022
In a letter announcing his veto, Newsom said: “I am deeply concerned about the operation of safe injection sites without strong, committed local leadership and well-documented, tested and thoughtful operation and maintenance plans.
“The unlimited number of safe injection sites that this bill will allow – facilities that could continue into the second half of this decade – could have a host of unintended consequences.”
Newsom added that “this is up for discussion” after officials returned to the legislature with more “overarching” plans for safe places to consume drugs.
Joel B. Pollack is Senior Editor and news anchor for Breitbart News News Sunday Breitbart Every Sunday night from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM ET (4:00 PM to 7:00 PM PT) on Sirius XM Patriot. He is the author of the recently published e-book Neither Free nor Fair: 2020 US Presidential Election. last book RED NOVEMBERtells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries from a conservative perspective. Won the 2018 Robert Novak Graduate Journalism Scholarship. follow him on twitter @joelpollak.
Source: Breitbart
