City Council calls upon the City Manager to take steps to bring support to efforts supporting Overdose Prevention Center legislation currently under consideration in the Massachusetts Senate and House of Representatives

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On December 12, 2023, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH)

reported that the increasingly toxic drug supply in the United States and ongoing opioid epidemic have claimed the lives of more than 25,000 people in Massachusetts since 2000, with 2,323 confirmed and estimated opioid-related overdose deaths between October 1, 2022, and September 30, 2023; and

From 2019 to 2022, 80 individuals, that we are aware of, have died from a drug overdose in Cambridge; and

The DPH has concluded, after reviewing available data, that the establishment of Overdose Prevention Centers (OPCs) in supportive communities would be an evidence-based, valuable harm reduction service feasible in Massachusetts pending legislative action to extend state-level legal protections; and

OPCs are facilities where people who use drugs can consume pre-obtained substances under the supervision of trained staff who can administer overdose reversal medication when necessary; and

OPCs commonly offer services including access to sterile supplies, first aid administration, drug-testing services, infectious disease testing, and referrals to health and social services including substance use disorder treatment; and

OPCs have shown to increase access to treatment and reduce the amount of drug related detritus in the communities that host them; and

OPCs have not been shown to increase drug use or drug related crime in the communities in which they are located, and multiple studies have shown that OPCs can and have demonstrated substantial savings to communities making use of them; and

No overdose death has ever been reported at a sanctioned OPC, and OPCs have operated for more than 30 years in Canada, Australia, and much of Europe, with implementation underway or under consideration in New York City, Rhode Island, Minnesota, and Philadelphia; and

The Cambridge City Council has on multiple occasions recorded its concern about, and commitment to, addressing the continuing loss of life to drug overdose, and has also registered its support [most recently June 2022] for legislative action to make OPCs available in Massachusetts; and

Numerous concerned community residents and organizations including Material Aid and Advocacy Program, First Church Shelter, and Access Drug User Health Program, and have consistently come forward to endorse and offer to help make OPC available in Cambridge; now therefore be it

That the Cambridge City Council calls upon the City Manager to take steps to bring support to efforts supporting OPC legislation currently under consideration in the Massachusetts Senate and House of Representatives; and be it further

That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to communicate to the Commissioner of Public Health of the City of Cambridge’s willingness to host an OPC; and be it further

That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to direct the relevant municipal departments and offices to urgently begin planning to make OPC services available in Cambridge, including consulting and contracting with relevant local providers and organizations, most importantly those with lived experience, to ensure the provision of OPC services that are responsive to those most in need; and be it further

That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to report back to the Human Services and Veterans Committee in a timely manner.