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After Santa Ana officials battled a needle exchange program from setting up shop within city limits again, the local substance abuse clinic has rescinded its application to operate in Orange County – ending a saga dating back to last year.
City officials have long argued that the program – which is run by the Harm Reduction Institute – threatens the public health and safety of residents.
But harm reduction advocates argue needle exchanges, commonly referred to as syringe services programs, act as a bridge to further prevent the spread of infectious diseases like Hepatitis C and HIV.
It’s an issue many local and state elected officials agree on: despite concerns of drug abuse proliferating disease, letting in a syringe service program to Santa Ana is not the solution they’re hoping for.
In a Nov. 27 press release, Santa Ana officials announced that the program will not run after dropping their application from the California Department of Public Health.
The release highlighted support from state Senator Tom Umberg and Assemblyman Avelino Valencia in fighting against the needle exchange program. Neither responded to requests for comments.
Santa Ana City Council has long opposed a needle exchange, particularly after hosting a similar program that ended back in 2018.
[Read: Santa Ana Continues Battling Needle Exchange Program]
Following the withdrawal, Councilman David Peñaloza said in a phone interview last week that blocking the syringe program “was a win” for Santa Ana officials and residents.
While he understood the efforts of the Harm Reduction Institute in providing services to stop the spread of infectious diseases, he said that Santa Ana “is not alone on an island.”
He added that in order to address drug abuse within Orange County, “other cities need to step up to the plate,” but implementing a needle exchange program “doesn’t solve the problem.”
Earlier this month, Orange County Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento said the issues with the Harm Reduction Institute and their applications stems from concerns of not being able to collect the needles exchanged once in operation.
“I don’t want to speak ill of the program – I think it has merit. I think it has good goals, good intentions” Sarmiento said in a Dec. 3 OC Board of Supervisors meeting.
In their application, the Harm Reduction Institute projected to collect about 60% of needles that were distributed, in which the program anticipated to distribute about 300,000 needles. This would translate to 120,000 needles potentially unaccounted for.
“I don’t know what the solution is,” he later added, referring to the Harm Reduction Institute needing to offer a better plan for collecting needles that will make county leaders buy-in on allowing for a syringe service program.
Carol Newark, executive director of the Harm Reduction Institute, said in a Dec. 3 text message that although her organization rescinded its application, “we remain committed to providing harm reduction services throughout Orange County to save lives and reduce the transmission of preventable diseases.
In the past, Newark highlighted that it’s not possible for a program to have the resources to collect every used needle in places like Santa Ana, but not having any program in place to safely dispose of needles does no good either.
[Read: Santa Ana Leaders Gear Up To Fight Needle Exchange Program Again]
“We will continue to work with community partners and any local officials who are supportive of our work,” she added.
Despite concerns of littered syringes, the state health department argues that syringe programs offer a safe place to dispose of syringes.
“In some communities, syringe service programs are the only program available to safely dispose of their sharps, including those given out for insulin and other injectable medications,” reads an email from Rebecca Wass, spokeswoman for the California Department of Public Health.
She added that syringe programs play a role in helping prevent and reverse overdose “among homeless people, which overdose is among one of the leading causes of death.”
Hugo Rios is a Voice of OC reporting fellow. Contact him at hugo.toni.rios@gmail.com or on Twitter @hugoriosss.
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