Santa Ana ends needle exchange
Santa Ana denies nonprofit’s permit application, saying littered syringes pose a public health risk.
City denies permit request, saying discarded syringes pose a health risk.
Orange County’s first and only needle-exchange program has shut down after Santa Ana city officials denied its permit application, sparking concerns from public health advocates.
City officials say the move was necessary because of an increased number of discarded syringes in the Santa Ana Civic Center, for which they blame the needle exchange.
Kyle Barbour, co-founder and board member of the Orange County Needle Exchange Program, said the nonprofit’s permit application was denied by the city in mid-January.
The group, which operated in the Civic Center, says needle exchanges are a crucial public health service.
“People are going to die and get infectious diseases,” Barbour said. “There’s no ambiguity that needle exchanges are an effective strategy.”
Needle exchanges seek to provide drug users with clean needles to prevent the spread of infectious diseases, such as HIV and hepatitis C, and other harm caused by dirty needles.
The practice is endorsed by the American Medical Assn., the World Health Organization and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, among others.
Santa Ana has the highest rate of HIV infection in the county, according to 2016 statistics from the Orange County Health Care Agency. There was a 201.2% increase in hepatitis C rates in Orange County from 2011 to 2015, according to the California Department of Public Health.
“Syringe services programs are an essential component of preventive healthcare for people who inject drugs,” Matt Conens, spokesman for the state agency, said in an email. “Scientific studies have consistently found that syringe services programs reduce HIV and viral hepatitis infection and are among the most cost-effective tools available.
“While the California Department of Public Health cannot predict the specific results of closing Orange County Needle Exchange Program services, one could expect that it would negatively impact HIV, viral hepatitis, and opioid-overdose prevention efforts in Santa Ana and Orange County.”
The state health department is the supervising agency for the Orange County Needle Exchange and recertified the nonprofit on Jan. 12.
But the city of Santa Ana decided the needle exchange posed a public health issue for visitors and the city and county employees who work nearby.
Robert Cortez, Santa Ana deputy city manager, said that syringe litter became a rampant problem since the needle exchange opened about two years ago.
“A lot of unintended consequences came with the program,” Cortez said. “There was needle debris everywhere in the center, to the point where some of the books at the Santa Ana library had needles inside of them.”
Cortez said workers had been pricked by needles lying around the center.
When asked whether needle litter had been an issue at the Civic Center before the arrival of the needle exchange, Cortez said, “not to the extent that you see now.”