As Connecticut struggles with 1,200 overdose deaths each year, state lawmakers heard about a controversial solution on Thursday – supervised injection sites for drug users.

Advocates told the Legislature’s Public Health Committee that the sites prevent overdoses and keep syringes off the streets. But they could also violate federal law.

Pastor Eddy Michel was stunned at what he discovered outside Shekinah Glory First Tabernacle Church in Bridgeport this summer.

“Every day we have to check right here to see if there are any needles coming in right here,” he told News 12 Connecticut in July.

Michel found hundreds of hypodermic needles. One parent reported that their 4-year-old daughter was stuck with a syringe that contained blood.

“We refuse to let our kids to come out to play because you just don’t know,” Michel said.

The growing overdose crisis is why Connecticut is considering “safe injection” sites, where users can consume their drugs under medical supervision. On Tuesday, addiction advocates and legal experts urged state lawmakers to legalize the sites.

“These programs can and will succeed,” said Liz Evans of Liberation Programs in Bridgeport. “At the site I was involved in setting up over 20 years ago now in Canada, over 4 million injections have taken place there, thousands of overdoses have been reversed and not a single life has been lost.”

At the State Capitol, the idea remains controversial. Some lawmakers worry that supervised injection locations violate federal law. In 2021, a federal appeals court ruled that they violate the Controlled Substances Act.

“The court’s decision re-affirms that ‘safe’ injection sites are a violation of federal law,” Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen said following the ruling. “The department supports efforts to curb the opioid crisis ravaging this country, but injection sites are not the solution. There are more productive ways to address drug abuse.”

But New York City launched supervised injection sites anyway by using private funding sources. And neighboring Rhode Island approved them in 2021.

“Never concede that safe injection sites, by any name, are illegal,” said Scott Burris, with Temple University Law School. “That is a matter of opinion.”

In 2023, legal concerns led Connecticut legislators to abandon a proposal for a pilot program in three cities.

Beyond federal law, others worry about safety.

“In New Haven, we have a major methadone clinic with documented incidents of frequent drug dealing and violence, including a murder,” then-New Haven Republican mayoral candidate Tom Goldenberg told lawmakers in March 2023.

Some Democratic lawmakers hope to revive the proposal during the 2025 General Assembly session, but supporters acknowledge that existing federal law makes the prospects dim.

Connecticut does offer needle exchange programs at 13 locations across the state.