By Kolby LaMarche

Burlington’s proposed “safe injection site” received an update last night from city and nonprofit staff, answering some looming questions while raising others.

Vermonters for Criminal Justice Reform (VCJR) is now actively operating inside a 90-day window required under state health department guidelines before a phased opening of Vermont’s first overdose prevention center can begin. 

The nonprofit, selected by the City of Burlington to operate the facility, has completed the mandatory service assessment and is advancing program work that could allow non-consumption services to start very soon while some preparations continue for supervised consumption.

Coordinators say the decision on location, one of the larger pain points of the program, will rest on the wants and needs of those facing substance use disorder and, importantly, buy-in from the City Council on final site selection, but is likely to be in an “accessible” location, with many pointing to downtown. 

Before any final decision is made, Community & Economic Development Office (CDEO) Director Kara Alnasrawi told the council last night that an executive session may be appropriate to “get on the same page” when making those votes on where, how, and when. It was not clear last night, however, what the executive session, which cannot be broad in nature, would be about.

Another important point shared last night by the panel, which included both CEDO and VCJR staff, was the challenge posed in terms of renting, or leasing, a building for the site, moreover landlords may not like what activities are being proposed for their site. This has led the group to steer toward owning a site, rather than renting. 

But that point, buying a location to host the injecting, raised another point in a long list of financial questions for the program, which was given only $2.2M for a two-year pilot program. Democrats on the council, like President Ben Traverse, probed the program’s current and future finances, expressing some concern for the longevity of the program.

The panel of staff responded, saying they were “taking a leap of faith” in the current financial structure of the program and said they will likely grow to become heavily dependent on hunting for, applying to, and potentially receiving other grants. Given the testimony last night, some staff seem keen to, already, seek to extend the program, which hasn’t yet begun. 

The full purchase of a building to house the program may impact their two-year budget, Traverse noted, adding he would welcome any information that told him more about long-term 

Though local planning is advancing, the project is set to open against a long-standing federal legal history that doesn’t look kindly on the City’s desires. 

In December 2017, then-incoming U.S. Attorney for the District of Vermont Christina Nolan issued a strongly worded statement on safe injection facilities. 

Nolan wrote that such sites “would encourage and normalize heroin use, thereby increasing demand for opiates and, by extension, risk of overdose and overdose deaths.” 

She stated that the facilities would violate federal law, exposing users, workers, and overseers to criminal charges and subjecting host properties to federal forfeiture. 

The statement noted that while advocates were motivated by a desire to save lives, the sites were both bad policy and illegal under federal statute. 

Asked last night about the legality of the site, CDEO Director Kara Alnasrawi told councilors it was “illegal”, arguing that federal law, different from state law on the issue, does not allow for such sites or for the government to supervise consumption of drugs,

Tom Dalton, executive director of VCJR, pushed back saying “I don’t engage in anything illegal.” 

Dalton asserted that he believes the program’s activities not only exist in a federal “grey area” but that the program may actually be covered, legally, under the federal Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, which, Dalton says, allows for medical professionals to treat addiction in different ways, like an overdose site. 

No councilors last night, as it appeared, let the question of illegality hang over their interest in the program, though many noted the issue will remain top-of-mind in the coming months. 

Next steps center on converting the recent letter of intent into a viable site, completing any necessary renovations, and securing the remaining local and state approvals, like zoning changes to allow drug consumption on the site. 

Once a building is secured, VCJR plans to begin with non-consumption services, case management, harm-reduction supplies, referrals, and related supports, while finalizing policies, staffing, and facility readiness for supervised consumption. 

The City Council must vote to authorize the shift to full operations.

Officials continue community engagement around any proposed location and are also examining the feasibility of a hybrid mobile option, a van that could either serve as an injection site itself or as transport to the physical site. 

The goal remains identifying a location by the end of 2026 and standing up consumption services in Fiscal Year 2027, subject to the many regulatory, real-estate, and coordination variables still in play.

CEDO Director Kara Alnasrawi reminded councilors that they have the final say and that if they aren’t happy with the outcome she would “hit the pause button.”