Jesse Harvey doesn't want people to do drugs, but if they are going to do them, he wants to help make it as safe as possible. Harvey feels like there needs to be another choice besides get sober, or die.
"What's happened here in Maine, 418 people died last year, nationally, 72-thousand people died. There is a third choice, harm reduction. And it is sanctioned by the CDC, AMA, world health organization, all of the largest bodies of health medical professionals, because it saves lives, saves money, and helps people get better" said Harvey.
Back in September, Harvey opened up the Church of Safe Injection. In 5 months, the church has 18 branches covering 8 different states. Harvey is hoping to one day, apply for religious exemption to the controlled substances act which has been granted to other churches in the past. In fact, both the Supreme Court and the U.S. Congress have granted religious exemptions to banned substances.
"It's in the Bible, the Koran, the Torah, all of the religious texts, showing care and concern and compassion for marginalized and dis-empowered people"
Harvey says that the medium to long term goal is to secure 501c3 status and to apply to offer services including naloxone or narcan training throughout the state as well as syringe exchange services in currently under-served communities.