By Guy Page
A bill passed by the Vermont House last week prevents law enforcement from stopping anyone – including children – from shooting up in so-called ‘safe injection sites,’ House Minority Leader Pattie McCoy (R-Poultney) warned at a press conference Tuesday.
H72, the “harm-reduction criminal justice response to drug use” bill, passed the House last week by a veto-proof super-majority. It’s now in the Senate Health and Welfare Committee.
McCoy pointed to the language – or rather the lack of it – in the bill regarding age limits. As written, anyone could enter the state funded and staff sites, shoot up, and leave without any intervention allowed by state child protection or law enforcement. Site owners, staff and clients “shall not be cited, arrested, or prosecuted for unlawful possession of a regulated drug.” No age limit is included.
Asked about the children’s apparent accessibility to ‘safe injection sites’, Rep. Small – who watched the press conference, said the bill merely gives guiding principles. It would be up to the Vermont Department of Health to set guidelines, Rep. Small said.
Lawmakers, including Rep. Eric Maguire (R-Rutland), also noted the law violates federal law banning the possession and use of controlled substances. Although the Biden administration has taken a ‘wait and see’ approach to safe injection sites, the next administration could well drop the enforcement hammer on owners, operators, staff and clients – and possibly the State of Vermont as well. Small said in New York City, where a non-government safe injection site now operates, police and other authorities welcome the site for its apparent reduction of overdoses.
What should Vermont do instead?
Backed by a large contingent of House and Senate Republicans, McCoy and other Republicans said that instead of giving drug users locations to shoot up, the Legislature must double down on four levels: prevention and education (especially for the very young), intervention, recovery, and law enforcement.
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Categories: Drugs and Crime, Legislation
Are there any conservative party voters frequenting these injection sites? May just as well call them progressive campaign stops.
would you want one of these sites across the road from your house/// will buses haul these people in from out of state/// this is the drug industrial complex/// why would any one promote this agenda//// money//// money//// money///
When does this insanity stop? This bleeding heart “solution “ only encourages the use of deadly illicit substances. What’s next?
I will always call out the hypocrisy of those who pretend to care about children after they voted for H 89. The law which gives the ” State ” the right to take children away from their Parents to sexually, chemically, physically and psychologically destroy them.
Both Ms. McCoy and Maguire voted for H 89, along with 22 other VT transrepublican State Representatives. It was also supported by Phil Scott.
There is another article posted by VDC today written by Gina Galfetti, who also violated the language in the VTGOP Platform to protect the sanctity of life from conception.
I was the Platform Delegate from Chittenden County and along with 15 or so others wrote the language of the VTGOP Platform. I left the VTGOP because two thirds of the membership voted against my Amendment to withhold support or financial endorsement of any candidate who did not adhere to the VTGOP Platform.
This photo op by Ms. McCoy, Maguire and any other Transrepublican that voted for H89 may give them a feel good moment, but the truth is, they don’t care about the children.
Ms. McCoy is quoted about her concern that State Child Protection or law enforcement will not be able to intervene.
Ironically, that is exactly what she and the other 23 voted for in H 89.
As far as Representative Small claiming it would be up to the VT Dept of Health to set up guidelines, what will Representative Small and all those who voted for H 89 say when they step in to protect a child from transitioning ?
( Completely hypothetical, they don’t care either )
That is why they did nothing when Phil Scott stole $2 million from the program to protect VT children from domestic abuse to give to illegal aliens who were not eligible for stimulus checks. He also took $3 million from the Tobacco settlement fund for the same reason.
Why didn’t Ms. McCoy, Maguire and every other Republican in the Legislature fight for those children ?
The facts are clear, the marxists Super Majority don’t care about Vermont children, and by their complicity neither do those who vote with them.
Just goes to show, once again, that these lamebrains don’t think through what they are proposing for laws; tunnel vision rather than looking at the big picture. Similar thing happened a few years ago when they decriminalized the possession of an ounce or less of marijuana but not allowing for the sale of it. A shop owner on Church Street found a work around by selling $100 empty envelopes and, with the purchase of said envelope, the buyer received a “free gift” of, you guessed it, marijuana. Government response? “Oh, we didn’t think of that but it is clearly against the law” even though the law never stated as such.
Safe illegal drug injections? For real?
Bill, I would like to think with age I’ve gained a modicum of wisdom from observation as sort of a student of human behavior and employer. Learning liberals are most often low achievers. Souls that have never been sought out and paid for their professional opinion or awarded for excellence.
At some point they reconcile their existence as one of no tangible benefit to community property, or as a charitable benefactor. Struggling with low self esteem they too often selfishly declare themselves an activist. “By golly, I feel good about myself because, I CARE, and to hell with anyone that my actions adversely impact. This is all about ME!”
Facilitating illegal drug use in an urban neighborhood will undoubtedly attract competing dealers with turf wars resulting. But smug, liberal minds only comprehend how noble intentions make them feel good inside.
Always fascinated by conservatives who believe these progressives are stupid. They’re not. They are very intelligent. They are also evil. These laws are not being proposed and passed by accident. It’s part of a much greater plan to destroy our country from within. And they’re getting away with it. Completely.
I would ask – who is dumber – the liberals passing this garbage or the conservatives allowing them to do it?
Well, I can vouch for my representative’s stupidity. He has no common sense. Cannot do simple math and has no idea how to do real research. Anyone reading his tripe on his blog would ascertain that in a split second. He just wants to “help make Vermont safer”. He is a poster child for the average left/prog/Marxist Vermonter and a trust fund baby. Maybe not those in the legislature yet… give him time. He’s only been a rep for a year. He’s also a “neighbor” of sorts. He violates “No Trespassing” signs, speed limits and doesn’t pay his service people, to name a few things. Those are just a few of his more charming qualities.
Now, I can’t speak about the rest in the legislature, but I did have the distasteful experience of interacting with another legislator in a nearby district who has obvious machinations on power and position. And she does ooze an evil vibe. I felt as if I needed to shower and scrub my person raw after dealing with her.
I’ve always had this maxim: People who seek power should never be given power”. Because whatever their agenda is, it is not for the good of the public. Never. And usually, they are much higher in narcissism than average, if not an outright narcissist.
Just my humble thoughts.
Some are very intelligent, some are not. But it’s true that if Republicans can’t start a comeback this year in Vermont, then when?
Leave it to politicians to pass the buck on a something that they think is a good idea, which it isn’t.
They have truly lost their minds!!! Gambling, drugs, prostitution, transitioning…. The devil has truly broken through the lines. I hope people are happy with their choices!!!
So the politicians are handing it off to bureaucrats at Vermont Department of Health to set guidelines as to whether or not your child can inject drugs in a “Safe Site”…There’s a contradiction of terms…And of course our Vermont civil servants are going to have our childrens best interest at heart here right?…Good God Almighty!
They hand it off to un-elected bureaucrats, protected by a public sector union, to shield themselves from the inevitable consequences…how cowardly.
This insanity sounds a lot like the reincarnation of 19th Century Victorian Era opium dens. Are the taxpayers going to be on the hook to supply candles and incense for these sites? More realistically perhaps, are the taxpayers going to be billed for Uber rides for druggies who can’t quite make it to a “safe injection site?” I know of an obvious site where the backers of this nonsense can stick it…
As “inequities” are discovered, yes, the scope of these facilities will expand to free rides to and from and eventually actually providing “safe” drugs to use, all at taxpayer expense. It’s all “harm reduction” after all…
As many have already stated, this is really about virtue signaling for a majority of these legislators. They want to appear like they are doing important work but don’t look too closely because it has no substance nor is valid. But they sure are making Vermont “safer”… and poorer. And by making it so expensive so that young adults will not have any children, thereby decreasing our population, they will increase the population and tax paying base by encouraging illegal immigrants to come to our state and eventually outnumber those generational residents.
And by the way, that part about virtue signaling, goes for the conservative side as well.
i like power and control/// the bigger the rock/// the bigger the bulldozer to push it/// some times a persons mind has to be pushed in a better direction///
This is insanity, brought to you by the same “compassionate” people who believe we can improve public safety by defunding the police and eliminate racism by classifying people as oppressed or oppressor solely on the basis of their race.
Cloward-Piven Strategy
“The enemy is already here”. – Dan Bongino