A divided federal appeals court on Jan. 12 ruled against the opening of what would be the first “supervised injection site” in the United States, saying plans for a site in Philadelphia ran afoul of a federal law originally passed to shut down drug dens. “Though the opioid crisis may call for innovative solutions, local innovations may not break federal law,” wrote Judge Stephanos Bibas of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, siding with U.S. Attorney William McSwain of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, who had sued to block the site. Tuesday’s 2-1 ruling overturned a lower court ruling in favor of Safehouse, a Philadelphia non-profit formed in 2018 that had for years attempted to open the first site in the city. According to the nonprofit, the supervised injection site would allow individuals to bring illegal opioids and inject them in the presence of medical professionals who could treat …