Judge Gerald A. McHugh ruled that religious beliefs do not allow Safehouse to skirt federal law, and dismissed the case.
A federal judge on Wednesday rejected the latest legal bid from the nonprofit that’s sought for years to open supervised drug consumption sites in Philadelphia, issuing a ruling that could deliver the terminal blow to its efforts.
In a seven-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Gerald A. McHugh quickly dispatched with arguments from the backers of the organization, Safehouse, who had maintained they were compelled by their religious faiths to try to save lives and prevent overdoses by operating facilities for people with addiction to use illicit drugs under medical supervision.
They argued that federal laws barring supervised injection sites violated their religious freedom.
But while McHugh acknowledged the “noble intentions” of Safehouse and its founders, he concluded that their Jewish and Christian beliefs did not give them license to skirt federal laws.
This is common sense… not cause injection sites don’t help, but because religion allowing people to ignore laws is dangerous. I’d love to argue my Pastafarian beliefs compel me to distribute shrooms alongside my spaghetti savior, but until I change the laws I’d only be able to talk about it in jail if I actually did it.
