POLITICO Newsom may have to decide whether to sanction heroin injection sites The idea is a recurring struggle between progressive lawmakers who say it will save lives and moderate Democrats and Republicans who warn it would normalize hard drug use. AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File Link Copied OAKLAND — California could become the first place in the nation where people can inject illicit drugs under medical supervision, pushing legal and ethical boundaries amid an alarming spike in overdose deaths. State lawmakers have debated the idea each year since 2016, a recurring struggle between progressive lawmakers who say it will save lives and moderate Democrats and Republicans who warn it would normalize hard drug use.