Agenda Item 3.06 -- Syringe "Exchange" > Rexroad.com

When I first heard about the needle exchange program on the agenda I just kind of shrugged and assumed this would be a time when I would simply vote against a new program that would be adopted over my objection. Then Dr. Hinton briefed me on the program on Friday and I started doing some of my own research.

Under the right circumstances on Tuesday I might actually cast a vote in favor of this item.

Here are some of assumptions I'm operating under ---

Some needle/syringe program will be approved on Tuesday. It is only a question of the details.
IDU (Injection Drug Users) are people that are most likely to use the county/government as their health care provider.
Most of the people that are advocating this program are more concerned wtih the health of the IDU than I am.
People are going to continue to use drugs through injeciton no matter what happens on Tuesday.
Any of these programs require some assumption of rational thought by drug addicts.
County government spends millions of dollars preventing obesity, high blood pressure, smoking....

I called over to my neighborhood pharmacist on Friday afternoon to learn that all pharmacies in Yolo County carry syringes. A pack of ten costs just over $3 -- $.30 a piece. The cost from the supplier is about $0.09 a piece. When I called my favorite retired Anesthesiologist I learned that hospitals get them in mass quantities for about $0.02 a piece.

On Saturday as I was getting ready for "birthday madness" I headed over to my favorite hardware store. In the section for animal care they sell syringes as a controlled item. They are required to keep track of the people they sell them to and what they are going to be used for. I looked at the cost of these but don't remember what it was because I was thinking about the madness about the occur in the park.

My primary concern isn't the drug user. From my point of view they are going to see a coffin sooner rather than later. My only real concern here are the kids in playgrounds and motorists on the side of the road. Innocent people that might have to encounter discarded needles.

When I did the adopt a highway progam in the early 1990's I saw lots of needles on the side of the road. I'm not sure what they were used for but I know that I didn't want to get stuck and didn't because I wore boots. If I was a motorist wearing flip-flops and got a flat tire I might not have been so lucky.

We had a former planning commissioner in Woodland that got involved in local politics because of syringes found in the alley behind her house. I have a call into the Woodland Parks and Recration department to get some idea of what we find in Woodland parks. I hope to hear back from them on Monday.

Some counties don't have a needle "exchange". They have a needle "give-away". I will not be voting for a needle give-away. This would mean Woodland would be riddled with disgarded needles all over town. That would allow some IDUs to have better health at the expense of other people cleaning up their needles. That shouldn't happen.

I'll only support this program if it's a true needle exchange. If these people want to give up a nasty needle I guess I'm willing to give them a clean one. This gives these folks an incentive to hold on to these little land mines instead of dropping them in the gutter, launching them out their car windows, or leaving them in the sandbox near the slide. The exchange also needs to be one for one. One needle for one needle. Anything else just is a drug support system.

The other thing that has to happen involves the business of drugs. The more I learn about this "industry" the more I see that some of these people are really business people that deal in illegal goods. Where would a drug dealer most like to be? A business person would like to be at that point in the supply chain where they would have a captive market -- -they would want to be on the other end of the phone where you can call to make a needle exchange. No way we can have any kind of program where people with a history of selling drugs can be involved in this supply chain.

On the whole, I'm not thrilled about this topic at all. However, if my choice is to just vote no for a bad program or try to make it better for the law abiding families of Woodland I will take the later. Tuesday should be interesting.

Comments

By Bobby Harris @ Sunday, April 29, 2007 11:03 PM

So, Yolo County is considering establishment of a needle-exchange program. Humboldt County (where I’ve lived for the past decade) has had one for several years, even with its board of supervisors having to declare a “public health emergency” every few months, to keep it in place.

“Dr. Hinton briefed me on the program on Friday and I (Matt) started doing some of my own research. Under the right circumstances on Tuesday I might actually cast a vote in favor of this item.”

# This is good to hear, Matt. I encourage you to support such a program, once it satisfies your legitimate concerns.

“Here are some of assumptions I'm operating under ---

* Some needle/syringe program will be approved on Tuesday. It is only a question of the details.”

# Sounds like a pragmatic strategy, and good politics.

“* IDU (Injection Drug Users) are people that are most likely to use the county/government as their health care provider.”

# Not really, Matt. IDUs exist in every level of society, from the bottom to the top. The real matter is that the ones at the bottom are -- uninsulated -- from legal and economic problems, and thus potentially end up in jail or an emergency room.

They throw their needles along parks and roadsides, because that’s their realm, and there's no incentive (in fact, there may be legal danger involved) with not doing so.

Also, anyone who cannot afford the high cost of health care in this society, is dependent upon the “county/government as their health care provider.” IDUs are a very tiny proportion of such folks, so I’m wondering about what point you’re really trying to make. Perhaps it’s that the persons using this needle-exchange service are the poor, whose budgets are cramped, who cannot afford $12 - $15 - $25 /week for fresh needles, which is the relevant point.

“* Most of the people that are advocating this program are more concerned wtih the health of the IDU than I am.”

# The point is, Matt, that it’s not just the health of the IDU that’s at stake here. Very serious diseases, such as AIDS, may be transmitted into the general public from IDUs who acquire these diseases from sharing needles. This is a significant vector for grave threats to broader public health, so concern for the IDUs clearly translates in public benefit in several ways, by reducing health risks and budget expenses for all of us.

“* People are going to continue to use drugs through injeciton no matter what happens on Tuesday. [ ] My primary concern isn't the drug user. From my point of view they are going to see a coffin sooner rather than later. My only real concern here are the kids in playgrounds and motorists on the side of the road. Innocent people that might have to encounter discarded needles.”

# The point of needle-exchange programs is to reduce the harm of this behavior, not to condone it or prevent it. Outreach counseling may be an ingredient of such a plan, but the key point is to attempt to control immediate consequences of this behavior. Substance addiction, like other forms of physical / psychological habituation, is and has been a primary facet of human behavior -- since the dawn of (our) time. Criminalizing such behavior serves to bolster certain political values and social perspectives, and also inclines the poor toward such criminality, but substance-abuse problems are at root health problems that exist within every social strata. The poor are though, in several ways, the ones exposed.

“* Any of these programs require some assumption of rational thought by drug addicts.”

# IDUs are capable of rational thought. In fact, it is hoped that IDUs may even participate in this very program, because it’s in their best interests and those of the general public. Some IDUs may actually be (rationally) concerned about these matters (their health and the health of other folks). So, rein-in the demonizing tendencies here, and be a better politician by putting yourself in the shoes of the IDU (so to speak). I really believe you’re already there, Matt, upon your accurate appraisal and moral reflection about these circumstances.

“* County government spends millions of dollars preventing obesity, high blood pressure, smoking....”

# Correct, because these problems are well understood to be serious issues of public health, as is the matter of needle-exchange.

“Some counties don't have a needle "exchange". They have a needle "give-away". I will not be voting for a needle give-away. This would mean Woodland would be riddled with disgarded needles all over town. That would allow some IDUs to have better health at the expense of other people cleaning up their needles. That shouldn't happen.

“I'll only support this program if it's a true needle exchange. If these people want to give up a nasty needle I guess I'm willing to give them a clean one.”

# I agree, Matt, and that’s one good reason to now establish this program of needle -- recycling

It’s long overdue.

You're new on the board, so please help to now make it happen for the benefit of all of us.

“No way we can have any kind of program where people with a history of selling drugs can be involved in this supply chain.”

# I again agree, there should be a relevant background check required for persons operating within this program of distributing exchange-needles.

“On the whole, I'm not thrilled about this topic at all.”

# You were thrilled enough to blog it, and that’s good politics (as you know . . . .).

“However, if my choice is to just vote no for a bad program or try to make it better for the law abiding families of Woodland I will take the later. Tuesday should be interesting.”

# The law abiding families (- and singles -) of Woodland should congratulate you, Matt, for your thoughtful research and generous inquiry, even if some of them may not previously have properly comprehended this subject.

Your open-minded style of politics is good for Woodland.

By The Realist @ Monday, April 30, 2007 11:22 AM

I do agree with Bobby on one point. The social status of drug users does go from the bottom to the top. I used to repo cars when I was 18. On one case I was at Sutter hospital in Sacramento and I was trying to repo a car. My assignment sheet said he was a brain surgeon. I wondered how he could not pay his bills. When I broke into the car and prepared to get it started, I found a syringe, a bent spoon and a baggie of heroin. I figured out real quick how terrible drugs are, that even a brain surgeon could fall victim.

By Matt Rexroad @ Monday, April 30, 2007 11:42 AM

My point is -- the brain surgeon is a rare one that has health insurance.

It is likely the others will depend on the county.

Matt Rexroad

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