California Governor Vetoes Bill That Would Allow Safe Injection Sites The Detox Center of Los Angeles Responds

Los Angeles, California -

Los Angeles, CA - California recently considered allowing three cities to offer an innovative but controversial strategy to help drug addicts, The Detox Center of LA was hopeful that this measure would help save the lives of addicts and encourage more people to seek effective treatment for addiction. However, Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed the bill like his predecessor Jerry Brown did before him.

The bill would have allowed Los Angeles, San Francisco and Oakland to set up supervised “injection sites” where addicts could use drugs under the supervision of trained healthcare staff. The sites would offer naloxone, an emergency medication that can reverse overdoses. They would also provide test strips to detect fentanyl, a powerful and potentially deadly synthetic opioid that experts say has been driving up the number of overdose deaths. Perhaps most importantly, the centers would provide resources to help direct addicts to treatment programs that would help them overcome addiction and stop using drugs.

The bill was passed by the California State Senate on Aug. 10 and was set to expire Aug. 22, the day governor Newsom vetoed it.

Opponents lobbied Newsom to veto the bill or let it expire, calling the proposed injection sites “drug dens” that would only worsen the state’s drug problem. Supporters said the sites could be an essential prevention strategy in the drug-overdose crisis. More than 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2021, according to the National Center for Health Statistics; 10,000 people died in California. Many of the deaths involved fentanyl and might have been prevented if the victims had had easier access to naloxone – or could have known they were using fentanyl and avoided it.

The Detox Center of Los Angeles works daily to fight addiction and help those who struggle against it and supports any effort to help users make it through another day. But the program is designed to take clients much farther, with comprehensive care at an in-house detox program managed by knowledgeable, experienced staff. As a result, clients experiencing moderate to severe addiction symptoms find a safe environment free of triggers and distractions.

The Detox Center of LA treats various conditions, including substance abuse, anxiety, depression, borderline personality disorder, anger, impulsivity, bipolar disorder, grief and loss, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Its in-house detox programs include full-time, round-the-clock onsite nursing care with an on-call physician.

Detox is only the beginning of treatment at the Detox Center of LA, where clients follow the initial pre-treatment phase with 20 to 30 days of intensive therapy. This residential care includes group, individual, experiential and family therapy. The facility’s clinicians take an integrative, solution-focused therapeutic approach that incorporates cognitive behavioral therapy and humanistic theories to assist individuals with reaching their goals.

Staff at the Detox Center of LA are highly trained, with credentials including a minimum master’s degree in social work, a licensable clinical degree from an accredited college or university and a valid license or registered intern status in clinical social work, marriage and family therapy, professional counseling or psychology in the State of California.

The Detox Center of Los Angeles strives to create a safe environment to help people learn more about their addiction, learn skills to better their lives and work toward a more hopeful future. Offering clean, safe, medically supervised drug-use sites could be a vital part of this compassionate approach to drug addiction, which seeks to meet substance-abuse sufferers where they are rather than where we wish them to be. Before treatment can begin, the user needs to survive.

The Detox Center of LA is fully accredited by several reputable associations, including the California Department of Health Care Services, The Joint Commission and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Anyone in need of help with drug or alcohol addiction, whether for themselves or a loved one, can visit The Detox Center of LA or call (561) 264-5881