State yet to OK US aid for syringe program

The president of an Ohio drug-policy advocacy group says state officials are dragging their feet on a simple move that would open certain federal grant money to local syringe programs aimed at preventing the spread of disease among intravenous drug users.

Dennis Cauchon, who leads Harm Reduction Ohio, said in a post on the group’s website Monday that the Ohio Department of Health is using a “bureaucratic tactic” — failing to submit a form to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — to prevent such programs from accessing any of the roughly $7.6 million in annual funding the state is expected to receive for HIV surveillance and prevention through mid-2022.

Such programs generally provide health-care, addiction and overdose-prevention services, including free access to sterile syringes to reduce needle sharing, which can spread HIV, hepatitis C and other diseases.

“Preventing HIV, hepatitis and drug overdoses are crucial health measures and save massive amounts of money and treatment,” Cauchon wrote. Surrounding states submitted the necessary paperwork in 2016, he noted. “The Ohio Department of Programs in Ohio that offer intravenous drug users free access to sterile syringes to reduce needle sharing need the Ohio Department of Health to allow them to receive federal aid to the state.

Health’s refusal to support this would be nothing short of reckless, irresponsible and ignorant.”

Ohio Department of Health Director Lance Himes did receive a proposal from his staff to seek CDC authorization to administer funds to syringe-service programs earlier this year, probably in April, and a decision is expected soon, department spokesman Russ Kennedy said.

“We’re taking the time necessary to ensure that redirecting HIV-prevention funding will not have an

adverse effect on our effort to reduce the incidence of HIV in Ohio,” he said. “We need to understand what impact it will have.”

Kennedy said using the money for syringe programs wasn’t considered until this year.

Cauchon told The Dispatch that he believes Ohio officials planned to kill the recommendation “through no decision” because syringe-service programs are politically charged; some opponents contend they only enable drug use.

The funding, Cauchon said, could boost programs that are maintained in a number of ways — through local public health or other government funds, private donations or supporting agencies. On his last count, Ohio had 13 such programs.

“They’re all run on a shoestring,” he said. “It’s a free-for-all, and it’s a patchwork.”

Emma Roberts, director of capacity-building services at the national Harm Reduction Coalition in New York, said syringe-service programs have increased dramatically in the country since the federal government, under the Obama administration, lifted a ban on their use of federal funds. Although the dollars cannot be used to buy syringes, they can be used to pay for such expenses as staffing, rent, utilities and other supplies.

Federal funds, she said, give more communities the opportunity to supplement or kick off much-needed services that drug users might otherwise avoid due to stigma or shame and that protect the community from disease outbreak.

“These programs don’t promote or enable people to use drugs,” she said. “What you’re enabling is people to be healthier, to be safer and to be alive.”

In Columbus, Equitas Health has operated the Safe Point syringe-access program, with oversight by Columbus Public Health, since January 2016. Its executives said recently the initiative faces its demise in August without more public funding, and additional assistance has been sought from city and county officials.

Joel Diaz, an Equitas spokesman, said the state’s submission of the federal form could create another revenue line to allow Safe Point to move forward and stabilize long term.

Dr. Mysheika Williams Roberts, Columbus health commissioner, said the city has seen an increase in hepatitis C cases over the past four years, while HIV cases have remained relatively steady.

She said it’s always beneficial to have more resources available for programs such as Safe Point, but that Columbus has figured out a way to make sure residents have the service.

“It’s just a safe place for individuals who are dealing with the disease of addiction to go to seek help and support,” she said. “And then when they are ready to get into treatment ... they know there’s a place they can go to that will treat them with respect.”