OC Needle Exchange Program Restraining Order Sought By Supes

SANTA ANA, CA — On Friday, the Orange County Board of Supervisors voted to halt the needle exchange program authorized previously by the California Department of Public Health, Office of AIDS. While the program was devised to curtail the "spread of disease," Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said the program would just "encourage more drug use."

In a meeting on Friday, the Board of Supervisors agreed that while the county has "taken significant steps to clean up our streets" by transitioning transients into shelters and more permanent housing, "progress is threatened and undermined by this needle exchange program," County Board Chairman Andrew Do said. "We will send a loud and clear message to the state that Orange County will not allow our sidewalks, parks and libraries to become a hazardous waste site."

Other Supervisors agreed. Recently, Supervisor Shawn Nelson has rallied to decrease the amount of plastic that ends up in land fills. He argued that argued that it's not a true "exchange" since 20 needles can be handed out for each one turned in. "Common sense left the building a long time ago," he said. "We're at a place right now where...you can't have a (plastic) straw, but a hypodermic needle? All bets are off. Go ahead."

Supervisor Lisa Bartlett also opposed the program, saying "the state's authorization of such a program over the county's objections "undermines local control and threatens public safety."

Supervisor Todd Spitzer agreed, adding that "we need to stop calling this a needle exchange. It's not just a needle exchange, it is sterile water, saline, cookers..."

According to Spitzer, violent crime has skyrocketed in the county due to initiatives to reduce overcrowding in prisons. The program is "an offshoot of a trend to decriminalize drug offenses," he said.

State officials said in the letter authorizing the program that there "is a public health need for these services due to the significant risk for transmission of HIV and hepatitis C among people who inject drugs in Orange County."

The program would be offered in Anaheim on Mondays and Thursdays from 2 to 5 p.m.; Wednesdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Costa Mesa; Tuesdays and Fridays from 2 to 5 p.m. in Orange; and Wednesdays from 2 to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Santa Ana. According to Supervisor Do, the Anaheim location is close to eight schools.

Orange County has been deemed "among the California counties most vulnerable to rapid spread of injection drug use-related HIV and HCV infections," state officials say.

"Newly reported cases of chronic hepatitis C increased by 201 percent between 2011-15 in Orange County, and the rate of newly diagnosed HIV cases per 100,000 population increased by 24 percent between 2012 and 2016," the state said in the letter.

Also, "very few" pharmacies in the county provide non-prescription syringe sales, according to the state.

Whether or not the program is as Rackauckas said, "throwing gas on the fire" remains to be seen.

"This is going to increase the use of drugs and spread the use of drugs and create a hazard with these needles," he said. "It won't encourage people to get treatment, in fact it will discourage people to get much-needed treatment. I pledge (the OCDA's) full cooperation and assistance and I think that we can shut this program down."

What do you think about the program? Will a proposed needle exchange increase problems or curtail them? Let us know in Facebook comments.

Photo Courtesy Supervisor Spitzer's Office: Spitzer listens as a resident speaks out against the reopening of a needle exchange program in Orange County.