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APNewsBreak: Mayor wants supervised heroin injection site

FILE - In this Jan. 21, 2016 file photo, Ithaca, N.Y. Mayor Svante Myrick speaks during at the U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting in Washington. Myrick wants his city to become the first in the U.S. to offer heroin users a safe, controlled place to shoot up. Supervised injection sites, in which a trained medical professional is on hand to deal with overdoses, are already in operation in Europe and Canada, but the idea never gained acceptance in America's law-and-order approach to the war on drugs.(AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)
FILE - In this Jan. 21, 2016 file photo, Ithaca, N.Y. Mayor Svante Myrick speaks during at the U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting in Washington. Myrick wants his city to become the first in the U.S. to offer heroin users a safe, controlled place to shoot up. Supervised injection sites, in which a trained medical professional is on hand to deal with overdoses, are already in operation in Europe and Canada, but the idea never gained acceptance in America's law-and-order approach to the war on drugs.(AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File) FILE - In this Jan. 21, 2016 file photo, Ithaca, N.Y. Mayor Svante Myrick speaks during at the U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting in Washington. Myrick wants his city to become the first in the U.S. to offer heroin users a safe, controlled place to shoot up. Supervised injection sites, in which a trained medical professional is on hand to deal with overdoses, are already in operation in Europe and Canada, but the idea never gained acceptance in America's law-and-order approach to the war on drugs.(AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)

By Associated Press 1 min read

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – A New York mayor wants his city to be the first in the U.S. to offer a supervised injection facility, where heroin users would be able to shoot up under the care of a nurse.

Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick tells The Associated Press the facility, which would also connect addicts to recovery services, is one piece of a new approach he wants his city to take against the scourge of addiction.

At similar facilities in Canada, Europe and Australia, medical professionals step in if a user overdoses.

There are legal and political challenges in the U.S. Myrick needs state permission to open a supervised injection site, and his proposal is certain to face significant opposition.

Myrick backs a law enforcement strategy that prioritizes treatment over arrests.

State health officials haven’t responded to a request for comment.