PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) -- Three years after the Rhode Island General Assembly passed a law authorizing a pilot program for harm reduction centers, construction has now finished at the state's first safe injection site.
According to Project Weber/RENEW, when the site opens in the next few weeks, people will be able to test and use drugs under medical supervision, while also having access to recovery resources.
"We're going to have two smoking rooms, which will accommodate four individuals for each room," Overdose Prevention Program Director Dennis Bailer said in September. "We're going to have our injection space, that will be available for eight individuals for a total of 16. We decided on a staff-to-client ratio of 1-to-4."
The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) reported that 404 people died from an overdose last year, marking the first decrease in four years. However, 78% of those deaths involved fentanyl.
In 2021, Rhode Island made history as the first state to legalize safe injection sites, but New York opened the first two sites in the United States that year.
Rhode Island's safe injection site has faced delays over the years, with construction beginning this fall at the Willard Avenue site next to Rhode Island Hospital.
The site will still need to be approved by state agencies. In a statement to Target 12, the Department of Health wrote Project Weber/RENEW needs approval from the state's fire marshal's office before it can begin its final review process.
RIDOH Spokesperson Annemarie Beardsworth said that would include "a review of the site's final operating policies to ensure that the policies meet State regulations and patient safety standards. Once they are in compliance, RIDOH will issue a license."
Some have been against safe injection sites, which are financed by state opioid settlement funds, arguing that those funds should only be used for recovery services.
Safe injection sites have been used for decades to prevent overdose deaths in several other countries, including Canada. Bailer says there have been no reported overdose deaths at any safe injection site across the globe.