Vermont governor vetoes pilot safe injection site intended to prevent drug overdoses

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Vermont’s governor has vetoed a bill that would have allowed the creation of a pilot overdose prevention center in the state’s largest city of Burlington, including a safe injection site where people could use narcotics under the supervision of trained staff and be revived if they take too much.

Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican, wrote in a letter to lawmakers on Thursday that while such sites are well-intentioned “this costly experiment will divert financial resources from proven prevention, treatment and recovery strategies.”

The Democratic-controlled Legislature is expected to attempt an override next month.

The legislation — an act relating to a harm-reduction criminal justice response to drug use — would have allocated $1.1 million in fiscal year 2025 to the Vermont Department of Health to award grants to the city of Burlington to establish such a center. The money would have come from the Opioid Abatement Special Fund made up of Vermont’s share of a national settlement with drug manufacturers and distribution companies. Before then, the bill required the Health Department to contract with a researcher or consultant to study the impact of the overdose prevention center pilot program.