Sept. 13, 2017 – The establishment of “safe injection sites” might fly in downtown Seattle, but don’t expect to see such facilities in Enumclaw.

Members of the Enumclaw City Council offered their opposition Aug. 28, passing formal “keep out” legislation aimed at those places where drug users can inject their drug of choice in a safe and sanitary manner.

The placement of an injection site has never been proposed for Enumclaw, but council members chose to take a proactive stance against Seattle-based decisions.

The King County Board of Health has endorsed recommendations made by the Heroin and Prescription Opiate Addiction Task Force, which specifically called for two of the so-called “safe injection sites.”

The King County Council proposed that sites would only be established in communities where the governing body embraced the idea. The city of Auburn took the formal step of opposing such sites and Enumclaw followed suit, adopting much of the language in the Auburn resolution.

The measure approved by the Enumclaw City Council states that addiction to heroin and other illegal drugs “deteriorates individual and community quality of life, fosters criminal activity, increases mortality and burdens taxpayer-funded services like police, hospitals, and schools.”

Additionally, the Enumclaw resolution notes a belief that safe injection sites will increase instances of drug trafficking, burglary and theft, while adding that resources for drug addiction already exist.