New Bedford City Council Says No to Drug Scheme [OPINION]

Longtime New Bedford City Councilor Brian Gomes has led the City Council to a unanimous vote in opposition to "safe injection sites" for illegal drug users.

The idea of setting up government-funded, law enforcement-free zones for recreational drug users, mostly heroin and fentanyl addicts, to get intoxicated is currently in vogue with the left-wing social engineers in Massachusetts.

The city of New Bedford and other similar cities are in the crosshairs of the social engineers and leftist activists. The wealthy and middle-class suburbs aren't going to put up with this idea for a moment, so the cities are ground zero for this experiment.

Brian Gomes was around for the debates on needle exchange and he knows how emotional and confrontational that political situation became. He also knows how the people of New Bedford overwhelmingly rejected that idea. Handing out drug needles and drug cooking material in the city of New Bedford was almost a reality in the 1990s.

The Coalition for Social Justice and their front group Treatment on Demand almost turned New Bedford into an open drug bazaar–except for the people of the city demanded a ballot question on their plans, and they came out in droves to save their community. Needle exchange was defeated by the voters by an enormous margin.

The New Bedford City Council has sent a message on safe injection sites: don't try to come to New Bedford, we don't want you here, and we are going to fight you every step of the way. The citizens of New Bedford should appreciate the courage of their city councilors.

Chris McCarthy is the host of The Chris McCarthy Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon. Contact him at chris.mccarthy@townsquaremedia.com and follow him on Twitter @Chris_topher_Mc. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.