>> AND THAT'S YOUR LATEST WEATHER.
GUYS? >> ALL RIGHT, AL.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH. >>> GOING TO TURN TO OUR SPECIAL
ONGOING SERIES, WE CALL "UNDERCOVERED."
WE LOOK AT BATTLING ADDICTION. >> ROMAN FARROW IS HERE.
HE'S LOOKING AT STORIES TIED TO THE WAR ON DRUG.
YOU DON'T SEE THESE IN THE HEADLINES.
>> Reporter: GOOD MORNING. WE'RE AT A TURNING POINT HOW
AMERICA ADDRESSES DRUGS AND ADDICTION.
A FEW DAYS AGO, ATTORNEY GENERAL JEFF SESSIONS ORDERED HARSHER
SENTENCES FOR DRUG OFFENDERS. BUT SOME STATES AND CITIES ARE
PUSHING BACK WITH APPROACHES THAT EMPHASIZE TREATMENT RATHER
THAN CRIMINALIZATION. AMERICA'S OPIOID EPIDEMIC IS
CLAIMING MORE LIVES THAN EVER. OFTEN IN PUBLIC PLACES.
>> PEOPLE ARE IN DOORWAYS SHOOTING UP, DYING AND DYING IN
ALLEYS. >> Reporter: JOHN IS THE SHERIFF
OF SEATTLE AND SURROUNDING KING COUNTY, WHERE SOMEONE DIES FROM
AN OPIOID OVERDOSE EVERY 36 HOURS.
AND OFFICIALS ARE GOING TO TRY A RADICAL RESPONSE.
>> TAKE IT OFF OF THE STREETS AND PUT IT IN A SAFE
ENVIRONMENT. >> Reporter: HE'S TALKING ABOUT
SAFE INJECTION SITES WHERE ADDICTS CAN INJECT IN A SAFE
SITUATION. >> THEY CAN TALK TO PEOPLE ABOUT
WHAT THEIR TREATMENT OPTIONS ARE.
>> Reporter: SEATTLE AND KING COUNTY ARE LOOKING AT THE CRISIS
AND ACTING ON THE RECOMMENDATION.
TO OPEN THE FIRST TWO SAFE INJECTION SITES IN THE COUNTRY.
WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION WHEN YOU HEARD THIS BEING FLOATED?
>> MY REACTION WAS, THIS IS A TERRIBLE IDEA.
>> Reporter: WHAT CHANGED YOUR THINKING?
>> THE WAR ON DRUGS, THE FACT IT DIDN'T WORK.
WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO DIFFERENTLY?
>> Reporter: THE WAR ON DRUGS, KICKED OFF BY PRESIDENT NIXON IN
THE 1970s, STARTED A TREND OF TOUGH LAWS THAT LOCK UP DRUG
OFFENDERS. MORE PEOPLE ARE INCARCERATED FOR
DRUG CRIMES THAN FOR VIOLENT CRIMES, DISPROPORTIONATELY
MINORITIES AND POOR PEOPLE. BUT ADDICTION RATES HAVE STAYED
CONSTANT. >> WE'RE JUST STARTING TO QUIT
LOOKING AT DRUG ABUSE AS A POLICE PROBLEM AND LOOK AT IT AS
A HEALTH PROBLEM. >> Reporter: COUNTY HEALTH
OFFICER DR. JEFFREY DUCHIN IS PART OF THE TASK FORCE.
SOME WILL HEAR ABOUT THIS IDEA AND FIND IT CRAZY.
>> WE'RE CONSIDERING THIS A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS.
IT MAKES SENSE FROM A PUBLIC HEALTH AND MEDICAL PERSPECTIVE.
>> Reporter: HE SAYS SAFE INJUNCTION SITES HAVE WORKED
ELSEWHERE. IN THE HEART OF VANCOUVER'S SKID
ROW, OFFICIALS OPENED UP A SAFE INJECTION SITE.
EVERY DAY, 700 USER COME IN, GET CLEAN NEEDLES, CHOOSE ONE OF THE
STALLS AND SHOOT THEIR DRUGS. MORE THAN 4,000 PEOPLE HAVE
OVERDOSED. NOT ONE HAS DIED.
>> THIS IS A BEFORE AND AFTER PICTURE OF ME.
THIS IS WHEN I WAS ACTIVELY USING DRUGS.
AND THIS IS MY NOW. >> Reporter: GUY SAYS HE CAME
HERE THOUSANDS OF TIMES. AND OVERDOSED FIVE.
>> THIS IS WHERE I OVERDOSED HERE THE I WAS ON THIS FLOOR
RIGHT HERE. A NURSE, THROUGH HER
INTERVENTIONS, BROUGHT ME BACK
TO LIFE THE AND I RECEIVED TREATMENT OPTIONS AND CHANGED MY
LIFE. >> Reporter: TODAY, HE IS FOUR
YEARS SOBER AND HAPPILY MARRIED WITH KIDS AND A JOB.
>> COMPASSION IS ONE OF THE GREATEST GIFTS OF THE WORLD.
>> Reporter: SIMILAR SITES ARE OPERATED ACROSS EUROPE AND
AUSTRALIA. AND SOME EXPERTS SAY THEY'RE
WORKING. DR. SARAH WAKEMAN WROTE, THE
CASE FOR SUPERVISED INJECTION FACILITIES IN "THE NEW ENGLAND
JOURNAL OF MEDICINE." >> WE HAVE PROMISING EVIDENCE
FROM SITES AND OTHER COUNTRIES TO SHOW THIS IS A PIECE OF THE
BROADER STRATEGY. >> Reporter: MANY THINK THIS IS
AED BAD IDEA. >> WHAT HAPPENS, IS YOU BRING
MORE ADDICTS TO YOUR LOCATION. >> Reporter: GRETCHEN TAYLOR IS
A MEMBER OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD SAFETY ALLIANCE OF SEATTLE.
FOR HER, THIS IS PERSONAL. >> I'M THE PARENT OF AN ADULT
ONGOING HEROIN USER. >> Reporter: WHAT DO YOU SAY TO
PARENTS WHO SAY, YOU KNOW, I, TOO, FEAR FOR MY CHILD AND I
THINK THIS MIGHT SAVE THEM? >> I WANT THAT TO BE TRUE.
AND THE TRUTH IS, I DON'T BELIEVE THAT IS TRUE.
>> Reporter: A NEW BILL INTRODUCED IN THE WASHINGTON
SENATE, SEEKS TO BAN THE SAFE INJECTION SITE.
STATE SENATOR MARK ME LOGGIA IS BEHIND IT.
>> THEY'VE LEGALIZED HEROIN USE. SAFE SITES ARE A BAD IDEA.
>> Reporter: WITH JEFF SESSIONS PUSHING A TOUGH LAW ENFORCEMENT
APPROACH ON DRUGS, THERE'S QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW THEY WILL
REACT. THE CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT IS
AGAINST PLACES LIKE THIS WHERE YOU HAVE PEOPLE USING DRUGS
INSIDE. CAN YOU BE ASKING YOUR OFFICERS
TO ENFORCE ILLEGAL ACTIVITY HERE?
>> I'M NOT GOING TO LET OUR EFFORTS BE DICTATED BY WHAT THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MAY OR MAY NOT DO.
>> Reporter: OUR NEW ATTORNEY GENERAL IS ALL ABOUT LAW
ENFORCEMENT APPROACHES TO DRUGS AND LESS ABOUT PUBLIC HEALTH
APPROACHES. >> THAT'S PROBABLY TRUE.
I THINK IT'S A HUGE MISTAKE. IS IT GOING TO WORK?
I DON'T KNOW. BUT IT'S BETTER THAN DOING
NOTHING. WE'VE DONE NOTHING BUT TRY TO
PUT PEOPLE IN JAIL, WHICH DOESN'T WORK.
>> Reporter: THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE DID NOT COMMENT ON THIS
STORY. LIKELY TO BE ON THE RADAR SOON,
THOUGH. THERE'S SAFE INJECTION SITES
BEING CONSIDERED IN SAN FRANCISCO, PHILADELPHIA,
MASSACHUSETTS, NEW YORK ACTUALLY APPROPRIATED FUNDS FOR ONE
WHETHER WE SHOULD HAVE ONE RIGHT HERE.
>> THIS COULD GET A DEBATE REALLY GOING.
THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT SIDES TO WHETHER OR NOT THIS IS A GOOD
IDEA. >> IT WORKS FOR SAVING LIVES,
WHICH WE WERE DISCUSSING. BUT THE BROADER IMPACT ON THE
COMMUNITIES HAS YET TO BE DECIDED.
>> THERE'S GOING TO BE PEOPLE WHO CAN'T GET THEIR HEAD AROUND
THE IDEA OF TRYING TO STOP PEOPLE BY DOING DRUGS BY GIVING
THEM A SAFE PLACE TO DO DRUGS. >> WE HAVE AN ADMINISTRATIONN
CRIMINALIZING A TOUGHER APPROACH.
THERE'S PEOPLE THAT SAY YOU JUST MITIGATE THE DOWN SIDE.
>> WHAT DO WE HAVE TOMORROW? >> THAT'S RIGHT.
WE'RE HAVE A CONTROVERSIAL ONE. YOU MAY FIND IT SURPRISING.
REHABILITATION CENTERS THAT ARE USING MARIJUANA TO GET PEOPLE
OFF OF HEROI