Mayor of New York State Town Wants to Open Heroin Facility

The mayor of Ithaca wants to combat heroin use in a very novel way.

Mayor Svante Myrick has proposed a supervised heroin injection facility, where the users could use heroin under the care of a nurse or physician. The facility would be a first in the United States.

The plan may sound like a radical one to many, but the 28 year-old Myrick firmly believes it can actually save lives. He believes that the problem should be approached as a health issue and not a crime.

Myrick said he would try to convince the New York Health Department to declare the heroin problem a state health crisis. Once done, that would enable the city of Ithaca to move forward without the New York state legislature being involved.

Myrick said the injection facility would provide users with clean syringes and access to recovery programs. The place would also be fully staffed with physicians who could administer an antidote if a user overdoses.

Mayor Myrick said:

My father was a drug addict. He split from the family when I was 5, 6 years old. I have watched for 20 years this system that just doesn't work. We can't wait anymore for the federal government. We have people shooting up in alleys. In bathroom stalls. And too many of them are dying.

According to the Times Herald, heroin overdose deaths in the state of New York went from 186 in 2003, to 914 in 2012.

Facilities like this exist across Canada, Europe, and Australia.