The fight over safe drug-injection sites is underway in King County.
Earlier this year, county leaders moved to open two of them as part of a larger plan to deal with the opioid crisis.
But opponents have gathered enough signatures to put forward Initiative 27. If approved, it would ban safe-injection sites across the county.
That prompted public health advocates to file a lawsuit to keep that initiative from appearing on the ballot.
One major question is whether voters should have a say in public health decisions that require expert analysis.
The Seattle Times political reporter Jim Brunner and City Hall reporter Dan Beekman spoke to people on both sides of the debate. First they talk to attorney Knoll Lowney, who represents the group that filed the lawsuit challenging I-27. Then they talk to Bothell City Councilman Joshua Freed, who is leading the effort to ban safe-injection sites.
The conversation above is an excerpt from "The Overcast," the Seattle Times weekly politics podcast recorded here at KNKX.
To hear more about I-27 and the lawsuit challenging it, you can find the whole episode here. You can find "The Overcast" on iTunes, Tunein, Stitcher and SoundCloud.
