Pubdate: Wed, 19 Jul 2006 Source: Tribune, The (San Luis Obispo, CA) Copyright: 2006 The Tribune Contact: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/391 Author: Sarah Arnquist Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?143 (Hepatitis) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?137 (Needle Exchange) SUPERVISORS OK NEEDLE PROGRAMS TO HELP REDUCE SPREAD OF DISEASES Note: Link to county staff report on needle exchange proposal (PDF) included in article. One Plan Would Allow People To Exchange Up To 30 Syringes A Week The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to create two needle exchange programs that public health officials say will reduce the sharing of dirty needles among drug users, thereby reducing the spread of disease. Supervisor Jerry Lenthall, a retired police sergeant, supported both programs with mixed emotions. "I want to emphasize that this goes against what law enforcement stands for," he said before asking the board to vote on the implementation of the needle exchange programs. Public health officials said they believe a needle exchange program will reduce the spread of HIV and hepatitis C by reducing needle sharing. Law enforcement worried that such programs could promote use. In March, the supervisors asked law enforcement and public health officials to compromise and create a needle exchange program that satisfied both sides. The compromised policy involves two programs. One will allow participating pharmacies to sell up to 10 new syringes for every dirty needle a person brings in to discard. The other is a needle exchange program that will allow people to exchange up to 30 needles a week at sites located in San Miguel and San Luis Obispo. Each year, the supervisors will review the policy and data collected on the number of people stuck by discarded needles in public places, dirty needles found and drug-related service calls. The community-based organization Gatehelp Inc., which agreed to operate the syringe exchange program, must pay for the syringes. If it cannot raise the money, the program will not operate. More than 28 percent of the 300 to 500 HIV cases in San Luis Obispo County were attributed to injection drug use, according public health records. Statewide, 13 counties have needle exchange programs and 14 have nonprescription syringe access at pharmacies, said Alessandra Ross from the California Department of Health Services Office of AIDS. Ross encouraged the supervisors to adopt a needle exchange program to help reduce the spread of disease. "Syringe access is not medically or scientifically controversial," she said. The programs are proven to reduce needle sharing and do not increase crime, litter or drug use, Ross said. Rodger Anderson of Morro Bay, a member of the county's Drug and Alcohol Advisory Board, spoke in favor of a needle exchange program. "It's very important that the public understand that needle exchange is not promoting injection drug use, it's about controlling the spread of disease," he said. Pharmacy participation is voluntary, and so far Dana Nelson of Health Plus Pharmacy in San Luis Obispo is the only one interested. "I've always felt that the pharmacy is supposed to be an advocate for public health, and I see dirty needles as a vector for disease," Nelson said. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman