Wilmington, Del., City Council Adopts Measure Supporting Bill That Would Create Pilot Needle-Exchange Program
The Wilmington, Del., City Council on Thursday adopted 12-1 a resolution supporting a state Senate bill (SB 209) that would create a pilot needle-exchange program in Delaware, the Wilmington News Journal reports. The bill, which state Sen. Margaret Rose Henry (D) introduced last week in the General Assembly, would establish a five-year pilot program in which state health workers would distribute clean needles to drug users from a van in several locations throughout Wilmington. Henry has tried since the mid-1990s to pass a measure to allow a needle-exchange program, which would cost the state about $175,000 per year, according to the News Journal. Opponents of the program say that a needle-exchange program would condone drug use in the city, which they say already is a "hot spot" for injection drug use, the News Journal reports. Wilmington Police Chief Michael Szczerba said, "People say these programs get dirty needles off the street, but what it boils down to is putting clean needles into the hands of drug addicts so they can continue their illegal and dangerous activities." He added, "We need to strengthen, not weaken, drug laws. And we shouldn't send contradictory and harmful messages to our children." However, Wilmington Mayor James Baker (D) said that he supports a needle-exchange program because it would help the city reach its Health Wilmington 2010 goal of reducing HIV prevalence by 20% over the next six years. "We've got to do something," Baker said, adding, "We've got an epidemic on our hands, and so far just wringing our hands about it hasn't helped." The state Senate Health and Social Service Committee next will debate the bill (Taylor, Wilmington News Journal, 2/6).
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