Wolf opposes supervised injection site for Philly, but won’t try to stop it

While a nonprofit moves closer to opening a supervised injection site in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood, Pennsylvania’s top politician said he opposes a facility that allows the use of illegal drugs under medical supervision.

Research has indicated that such an option can preserve the lives of opioid users, but Gov. Tom Wolf said he’s not behind the effort of former Gov. Ed Rendell and others to open one in Philadelphia.

“I don’t support that,” he said. “With all respect to my predecessor, they are trying to do the right thing, but my goal — and I think all of the people who are working to address this epidemic — would be we don’t want anyone to inject anything into their body.”

Wolf said he won’t put any roadblocks in the way of the process that’s already facing a challenge in federal court.

“I have focused my efforts and the efforts of the commonwealth and all the public-private partnerships in the direction of ‘Let’s figure out how to keep people from the point where they inject anything into their bodies that they shouldn’t.'”

Wolf said it’s just a different approach than Rendell and others are taking to address the crisis.

A site near Kensington and Allegheny has been offered to the non-profit that wants to start the sites. Federal officials opposed the idea completely and vow to fight against it.