Massachusetts lawmakers may approve overdose prevention centers

A last-minute amendment could allow overdose prevention centers, also known as supervised consumption sites, to open in Massachusetts.

But with one day left in the state legislative session, the proposal may have come too late to reasonably hope for passage, a prominent lawmaker said Tuesday.

House Speaker Ronald Mariano sharply criticized Senate Democrats after a committee amended an opioid crisis response bill Monday to allow overdose prevention centers, sites where people can consume illegal drugs obtained in advance under supervision. The House had already passed its version of the bill a few weeks earlier, in June.

“Any time you release a bill the day before the session ends, we have a hard time hearing it, especially when it contains proposals, major proposals, that we haven’t even had a chance to debate or vote on,” Mariano told reporters. “That makes me think you’re not really serious about getting the bill through.”

Senate President Karen Spilka appeared to respond to Mariano, saying the House had also produced new proposals to vote on Tuesday, the State House News Service reported.

“They’re doing so much I can’t keep up,” Spilka told reporters.

Appearing to use Mariano’s words against her, she said: “It kind of shows that they’re not really serious about passing the bill in the first place.”

Wednesday is the deadline to pass legislation in the current session, including bills addressing housing affordability, a planned professional football stadium in Everett and hospital oversight, SHNS reported.

Could Massachusetts Soon Have Overdose Prevention Centers?

The amendment authorizes “harm reduction programs,” defined as state-approved services designed to reduce overdoses by providing support to people using previously obtained drugs. These facilities, sometimes called safe injection sites, provide drug users with overdose recovery care, primary care, treatment plans and social services.

With opioid-related overdose deaths still at record highs in Massachusetts, advocates say the centers will reduce the number of opioid-related overdose deaths. The Department of Public Health released a feasibility report in December calling the centers “necessary.”

“People are using drugs anyway… this is bringing people from alleys and parks and in their cars and using alone, to a place where they can safely use their drugs under the supervision of a professional,” Deirdre Calvert, director of the DPH’s Office of Addiction Services, told Boston.com at the time.

If the amendment passes, cities and towns would be allowed to authorize the creation of overdose prevention centers. The bill would grant immunity to providers who work at these centers, which are illegal at the federal level.

Rhode Island opened the nation’s first state-regulated center this year, while New York City launched a private center in 2021. In March, Worcester health officials voted to launch an overdose prevention center pilot program, which would be the first in the state.

Massachusetts for Overdose Prevention Centers, a coalition sponsored by the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, thanked the Senate for its “bold action” in a statement.

“The House has already passed important legislation to address the opioid crisis, and the Senate has now taken steps to create a local option for overdose prevention centers that could save lives,” MA4OPC wrote. “We urge the House and Senate to combine these measures and ensure the strongest solutions land on Governor Healey’s desk.”