Is it illegal to posses Heroin? Is it illegal to use it? Is it illegal to buy it? Those are the questions that must now be answer on appeal from Federal Judge Gerald McHugh when he ruled in favor of a non-profit Safehouse where people could come and shoot up Heroin.
“We respectfully disagree with the District Court’s ruling and plan to appeal immediately,” said United States Attorney William M. McSwain. “What Safehouse proposes is a radical experiment that would invite thousands of people onto its property for the purpose of injecting illegal drugs. In our view, this would plainly violate the law and we look forward to presenting our case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.”
Property values in the neighborhood are just about guaranteed to drop and crime is almost guaranteed to go up. It is not unreasonable to believe an addict will look at vehicles and attempt to break into one. A bag of dirty laundry can be appealing to someone looking to sell it quick to get high. Neighbors in the South Philadelphia area do not want anything close to this in their neighborhood.
It is illegal to maintain a property for the purpose of illegal drug use. That is the crux of the opinion that McSwain is arguing. Proponents of the Safehouse believe it is is a great idea to have some place where drug use can be monitored and controlled. There is no other place like this in the United States. Should this be opened before the appeal can be filed, the US Attorney has vowed to evaluate all options available under the law. There is no timetable on the date this appeal will be heard.