June 6, 2018
Congressman Tom Reed (R, Corning) came out swinging during today’s weekly press call with reporters. Reed got to the point very quickly in his opening comments, condemning the idea that he says is being put forward by New York City Democrat Cynthia Nixon and Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick (D, Tompkins County), to legalize heroin injection centers. Reed noted that the Mayor of Ithaca is calling on New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo to approve a supervised drug injection pilot program in his city. “Injection sites will bring an influx of violence, crime and homelessness into our backyards as dangerous drug dealers will naturally follow the increased heroin users into our communities,” said Rep. Reed. “Only an extreme liberal ideology would support these spaces, and I will not help these radicals in their effort.” Reed’s comments indicated that the congressman was hopeful that Governor Andrew Cuomo would not want to go along with this proposal.
“I don’t want mothers to fear for their children’s lives as they walk to get onto the school bus, or for fathers to worry that their families will go hungry if they are mugged after a late night of work. I care about the hardworking people who choose to live in the Southern Tier, Finger Lakes and Western New York, and it would be unfair to them if we allowed their communities to become a drug pusher’s paradise,” concluded Reed.
A New York State Assembly bill was submitted to allow cities to create their own heroin injection sites. The Tompkins County Legislature and the City of Ithaca are expected to urge the New York State Legislature to immediately pass the bill.
“I applaud Congressman Reed for taking a stand on this difficult issue,” Steuben County District Attorney Brooks Baker said. “Deadly and hyper-addictive, heroin is a ‘try and die’ drug – first-time use leads directly to death or addiction. “There is no such thing as a ‘safe’ injection site. Our federal, state and local resources need to be spent on prevention, education and treatment – not on fostering deadly drug abuse,” concluded Baker.
