Democracy Dies in Darkness

‘Safe drug sites’ don’t work. The data proves it.

Cities with supervised drug use sites saw the same amount of overdoses.

April 20, 2026 at 7:15 a.m. EDTToday at 7:15 a.m. EDT

MANHATTAN, NY - DECEMBER 15: A used syringe is in a collection container at the overdose prevention center in the Harlem neighborhood of New York on December 15, 2021. (Jeenah Moon for The Washington Post)

By Charles Fain Lehman

and

Kevin A. Sabet

Charles Fain Lehman is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Kevin A. Sabet, a former drug policy adviser in the Bush and Obama administrations, is the CEO of the Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions.

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‘Safe drug sites’ don’t work. The data proves it.

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