ALBANY — Safe injection sites, billed as a way to prevent deadly overdoses by allowing supervised addicts to use intravenous narcotics, are getting fresh attention from some government leaders.

The controversial concept gained traction this week when New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters that safe injection facilities are “an idea whose time has come.”

Some treatment experts are also encouraging the idea, contending the sites could serve as an access point to help narcotics users find other services that will help break the cycle of addiction. At the supervised facilities, drug users would self-administer pre-obtained narcotics.

The drugs could also be quickly checked to determine if they contain fentanyl, which has been linked to many overdoses.

The office of Gov. Kathy Hochul signaled that it is willing to review the proposal, which would require state approval since heroin possession remains illegal under state and federal laws.

“Governor Hochul is deeply and personally committed to combating the opioid epidemic, and all options are on the table to save lives,” the governor’s spokeswoman, Hazel Crampton-Hays, said. “The governor will work with experts and impacted communities to determine how best to reduce harm and keep New Yorkers safe.”

The interest in the facilities being stoked in New York comes on the heels of Rhode Island deciding to open three such sites in the coming year, with advocates saying the facilities will be staffed by experts who can offer drug counseling and trained to respond with naloxone and oxygen in the event of an overdose.

Debate is also underway in California and Massachusetts on proposals to open safe injection sites.

John Coppola, director of the New York Association of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Providers, said he visited a government-sanctioned injection facility in Toronto several years ago and concluded it offered a beneficial way to counter the potential of drug overdoses.

“You want to create an environment where someone injecting drugs is able to see that there are better options than drug use,” Coppola said.

“If the need for safe injection sites existed two or three years ago, I would say the need for them now is significantly greater,” he added.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported the nation experienced more than 96,000 drug overdose deaths in a 12-month period ending last March. That period coincided with the first full year of the pandemic, with stay-home guidance altering normal life for millions of people.

The drug fatalities reflected an increase of nearly 30% from the number of fatalities recorded the previous year.

Patrick Phelan, director of the New York State Police Chiefs Association, said to have the state sanction a drug injection site could worsen the addiction problem by facilitating the continued use of intravenous narcotics.

“I’m not aware of any data that shows it has been successful in reducing crime or addressing the drug problem,” Phelan said. He noted the state has recently decriminalized the possession and sale of hypodermic syringes and needles.

Phelan also said it is likely there would be strong opposition from neighbors of any proposed injection facility.

Hochul has mentioned in several recent public appearances that addressing the challenges posed by addiction is a personal priority for her, as her nephew, Michael, succumbed to a fentanyl overdose, after becoming addicted to painkillers.

Legislation that would allow safe injection sites to open in New York has already been advanced by Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, D-Manhattan.

The influential chairman of the Assembly Health Committee, Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, D-Manhattan, said safe injection sites represent “an important way to save lives.”

“I very strongly support setting them up in New York,” Gottfried said. “The notion that the current system in any way discourages drug use never made sense and is not supported by experience.”

De Blasio told reporters in New York City this week that he ran into opposition from the administration of former President Donald Trump when he looked into opening a safe injection site.

“We also knew the only way we could move forward is with the state of New York fully embracing,” de Blasio said.