{"id":417323,"date":"2021-12-03T22:22:19","date_gmt":"2021-12-03T22:22:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/therealnews.com\/?p=279421"},"modified":"2021-12-03T22:22:19","modified_gmt":"2021-12-03T22:22:19","slug":"battleground-baltimore-easy-money-for-cops-dollar-homes-for-developers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/12\/03\/battleground-baltimore-easy-money-for-cops-dollar-homes-for-developers\/","title":{"rendered":"Battleground Baltimore: \u2018Easy money\u2019 for cops, dollar homes for developers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Back in January 2020, before the pandemic, then-City Council President (now Mayor) Brandon Scott introduced a resolution that called for an informational hearing about \u201coverdose prevention sites\u201d\u2014places where people can use drugs safely without having to worry about arrest. There are more than 100 of these sites around the world, and no one has ever fatally overdosed at one of them. Currently, there are very few in the United States. Rhode Island intends to launch a pilot site and New York City opened two sites in Manhattan this week<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf the state or the law department or someone else doesn\u2019t think the council has the authority to authorize [overdose prevention sites], then we\u2019ll have the discussion,\u201d Scott told me<\/a> at the time. \u201cSaving the lives of Baltimoreans is worth the risk of making some other government body mad or running the risk of having to defend why we want to save lives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite ongoing advocacy from the BRIDGES Coalition (Baltimore Resources for Indoor Drug-use Grassroots Education and Safety) and vocal support from Mayor Scott and Baltimore City States\u2019 Attorney Marilyn Mosby, further movement on overdose prevention sites in Baltimore has been slow moving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the meantime, Mosby announced her office would no longer prosecute Baltimoreans for drug possession. The results are notable. In 2019, there were 3,770 arrests for drug offenses, according to the Baltimore Police. In 2020, there were 1,348 arrests. What was originally introduced as a temporary policy during the start of the pandemic has continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, a bill to decriminalize drug paraphernalia passed the state legislature. It was the only bill passed in 2021 that significantly addressed the overdose crisis. That drug paraphernalia decriminalization bill, however, was vetoed by Gov. Larry Hogan, who claimed in his veto letter<\/a> that it would \u201cencourage\u201d drug use, which is simply and demonstrably untrue<\/a>. In 2017, Hogan also called overdose prevention sites \u201cinsane.\u201d<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n This month, there is a special legislative session in Annapolis, and the Baltimore Harm Reduction Coalition and others are calling for the state legislature to overturn Hogan\u2019s veto. To discuss why, Battleground Baltimore<\/em> interviewed Rajani Gudlavalleti, director of mobilization for the Baltimore Harm Reduction Coalition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Battleground Baltimore: Can you explain to Real News readers why you’re pushing to overturn the veto?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Rajani Gudlavalleti:<\/strong> The majority of Maryland legislators voted to pass Senate Bill 420 to decriminalize possession of drug paraphernalia because it will reduce risk of overdose, transmission of HIV and Hep C, and overdose. Harm reduction organizations have been authorized to operate syringe service programs which hand out supplies to increase health and safety among people who use drugs and our communities. Pharmacies are able to distribute these items in counties without syringe service programs. However, syringe service program staff and program participants still receive citations and harassment from law enforcement, which is why we need to decriminalize possession of these life-saving supplies. If the veto on SB420 is not overturned, Maryland legislators in 2022 and likely 2023 will hear another version of this bill to ensure some form of paraphernalia decriminalization\u2014a version that will likely stretch out the progress towards the life-saving policies we need in place right now to curb the deadly impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and overdose epidemic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n BB: Why is something such as this especially important during the pandemic? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n RG:<\/strong> SB420 was the only bill passed in Annapolis this year with the potential to significantly curb the overdose epidemic, which is particularly important as our loved ones most vulnerable to overdose are also extremely vulnerable to COVID-19 exposure. From what we are seeing across the country since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, overdose deaths are continuing to increase among Black and Indigenous people\u2014now back to being higher than among white people for the first time since 1999. At a time when Baltimore\u2019s overdose rate is among the highest in the nation, it is clear that we need to use every tool in the prevention toolbox, including decriminalization. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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