Orange County to File Lawsuit to Stop Drug Needle Giveaway
Santa Ana, California – Orange County has approved filing a lawsuit to stop a state-approved drug needle giveaway in Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Orange and Santa Ana.
In an emergency meeting on Friday, the Orange County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved Board of Supervisors Chairman Andrew Do’s proposal to seek a legal injunction to stop the dangerous mobile needle giveaway, which is set to begin on Monday, August 6.
“This drug needle giveaway is a serious threat to public safety,” said OC Supervisor Andrew Do. “Drug addicts dump their dirty needles all over our community, putting our kids at risk.”
“We will not allow our sidewalks, parks and libraries to become hazardous waste sites,” he added.
20-for-1 Needle Giveaway: Up to 200 Needles per Drug Addict
Despite its misleading and factually inaccurate name, the Orange County Needle Exchange Program does not provide a one-for-one needle exchange to drug addicts.
Instead, a single drug addict can receive as many as 200 needles through the drug needle giveaway program.
The activists behind the drug needle giveaway program told OC Weekly that “for every needle a person turns in, they receive that amount plus 20. The number of syringes a person can receive caps at 200 no matter what.”
Needle Giveaway Exploits Loophole in State Law
Supporters of the program relied on old data which does not satisfy the requirements that the locations selected must have conditions showing a rapid rise in infections.
From 2016 to 2018, the Orange County Needle Exchange Program handed out thousands of free syringes to at least 12,000 people in Santa Ana, under a permit approved by the city.
Many of those needles ended up in homeless encampments at the Santa Ana Riverbed and Civic Center. This winter, county employees removed 14,000 needles– potentially contaminated with infectious diseases — from just a four mile stretch of public land.
“This program is a proven failure,” said Supervisor Do.
Staff at Santa Ana libraries say that syringe littering has become a “huge” problem. Prior to the program, staff rarely found dirty needles. Now, they routinely find 40 to 50 per month.
“We found them on shelves, near planters, window sills, in books,” Heather Folmar, Santa Ana Public Library operations manager, told the Daily Pilot. “A cleaning lady was pricked by one.”
Earlier this year, the City of Santa Ana shut down the controversial and dangerous needle giveaway after complaints from concerned parents, educators and law enforcement officials – outraged by the number of dirty drug needles discarded near areas with children.
Rebuked by the community, activists exploited a loophole in state law by organizing as a “mobile” program. Orange County and the cities of Santa Ana, Anaheim, Costa Mesa and Orange objected but had no authority to stop the program. This week, over the objections of local cities and law enforcement officials, the California Department of Public Health authorized that program set to begin on Monday, August 6.
Unsafe Working Conditions for Workers
Drug needle giveaways shift the public health risk from drug addicts to the general public, as well as public employees.
Every year, more than 1.8 million needles are unaccounted for in San Francisco, which operates one of the largest needle giveaway programs in the state. Transit riders in the Bay Area say that BART has become littered with needles.
Earlier this year, a Caltrans employee was reportedly pricked with a hypodermic needle while cleaning up a homeless camp in San Diego. In March, a library employee in Seattle was “rushed to a hospital after being stuck with a needle.”
“Orange County is taking steps to clean up our streets and take back our neighborhoods,” said Supervisor Do. “Our progress is now threatened by this dangerous drug needle giveaway.”
In addition to filing the lawsuit, Supervisor Do is urging the public to sign a petition that calls on the California Department of Public Health to revoke the permit.
