Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott announced his intentions to bring a supervised drug injection site to his city during his second term as a way to limit overdoses. 

Scott told local media affiliates of his desire to bring such a site to Charm City after visiting a location in New York City that provided addicted drug users a controlled and monitored area to use illegal drugs. Scott supported the program’s ideals and touted that it was an effective model of what he hoped would eventually be built in Baltimore, according to reports. 

“This is something that we want to bring to Baltimore,” Scott told WBAL-TV. 

A majority of Maryland’s drug overdoses happen in the geographical area that includes Baltimore, according to government data. In 2020, nearly 60% of all overdose deaths in the state occurred in “Baltimore City, Baltimore County, and neighboring Anne Arundel County.”

Baltimore’s overdose rates were at crisis levels, and the city experienced more of its citizens dying from drug overdoses than any other city in the country in recent years. In 2022, drug overdoses decreased in the state. However, Baltimore still accounted for “over 38% of statewide overdose deaths.” The city only makes up about 9% of Maryland’s population. 

Scott believes a philosophical shift is needed to combat the city’s overdose problem. He suggested that the first part of solving the crisis is survival and ensuring they are safe and alive.

“In order for us to get people the treatment that they need — and when they’re ready for it — and to get them into the places and spaces they need, the first thing they have to do is be alive,” Scott said.

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Regarding the OnPoint NYC facility Scott visited, U.S. News and World Report revealed that more than “2,300 people have utilized the overdose prevention center’s services approximately 55,000 times.” Additionally, at the facility, there have been “more than 700 overdose interventions and zero deaths.”

“These public health-based approaches that have worked in countries all over the world and are now working in places like New York should be brought here,” Scott said.