The City of Santa Ana has finally taken a stand against the distribution of drug needles

City of Santa Ana

Needle Exchange

On June 25, 2018, the City of Santa Ana officially provided a letter to the California Department of Public Health declaring the City of Santa Ana’s strong opposition to the proposed Orange County Needle Exchange Program (“OCNEP”) application for certification of mobile syringe needle exchange services, in the City of Santa Ana.  A similar letter, dated June 8, 2018 from the City of Santa Ana’s Chief of Police, was submitted to the California Department of Public Health opposing the operation of the OCNEP Mobile Needle Exchange. The letter referenced the standards for refusal to certify an initial SEP Application, indicating “here, the harm to public safety significantly outweighs the benefits to public health conferred by the OCNEP.”

It is believed, and has been proven through prior City experiences, that this constituency will expose the improper disposal of dirty and used needles, which will endanger the health and safety of the community. OCNEP’s earlier and documented operations in the Santa Ana Civic Center had significant adverse impacts, including but not limited to excessive needle litter at the Civic Center and associated public safety concerns, which ultimately resulted in the City’s termination of its Memorandum of Understanding with OCNEP to operate a syringe access program at the Civic Center. In his termination letter dated December 6, 2017, Santa Ana City Manager Raul Godinez II provided to Mr. Nathan Birbaum of the OCNEP Steering Committee, a plethora of written and verbal complaints regarding the mismanagement of the OCNEP program and its deficiency in operation, illustrating serious health and safety concerns to the Santa Ana community.

Chief among the safety concerns were numerous complaints by citizens conducting business in the Civic Center, families visiting the Santa Ana Library, and employees of the City of Santa Ana, the County of Orange, the federal government and the State of California. The OCNEP Mobile Needle Exchange proposal will not only adversely impact the quality of life for Santa Ana residents, visitors, and businesses, but will also re-create a public health and safety crisis for the Santa Ana community at large which had been mitigated with the cancellation of the prior OCNEP MOU and permit denial.

Letter to California Department of Public Health in response to Orange County Needle Exchange Program Application for Certification as a Mobile Syringe Exchange

Appendix A: Letter from City of Santa Ana to OCNEP dated December 6, 2017

Appendix B: Photographs documenting the proliferation of dirty needles in the Civic Center

Appendix C: Community Complaints from the City of Santa Ana

Appendix D: City of Costa Mesa Police Department Memorandum of OCNEP

Appendix E: City of Santa Ana Office of the Chief of Police Letter to California Department of Public Health

Appendix F: Orange County Resolution again OCNEP Mobile Needle Exchange

Appendix G: 2017 Opioid Overdose and Death in Orange County Report

Art Pedroza Editor

Our Editor, Art Pedroza, worked at the O.C. Register and the OC Weekly and studied journalism at CSUF and UCI. He has lived in Santa Ana for over 30 years and has served on several city and county commissions. When he is not writing or editing Pedroza specializes in risk control and occupational safety. He also teaches part time at Cerritos College and CSUF. Pedroza has an MBA from Keller University.

See Full Bio