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'Come and Arrest Me': Former Pennsylvania Governor Defies the Feds on Safe Injection

In defiance of threats from the Justice Department, public health advocates in Philadelphia have launched a nonprofit to run a facility to allow people to use illegal drugs under medical supervision.

By Bobby Allyn

In Philadelphia, a battle between local officials and the Trump administration is heating up.

In defiance of threats from the Justice Department, public health advocates in Philadelphia have launched a nonprofit to run a facility to allow people to use illegal drugs under medical supervision. It is the most concrete step yet the city has taken toward eventually opening a so-called supervised injection site.

The non-profit, called Safehouse, was formed after a political heavyweight, former Pennsylvania governor, Ed Rendell, joined the board.

In August deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein, told NPR that the Justice Department will not tolerate the opening of a supervised injection site in Philadelphia. Rosenstein said anyone involved in running one is "vulnerable to civil and criminal enforcement."

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