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NC Senate Bill Would Tighten Guidelines For Needle Exchange Programs

A nurse holds one of the syringes provided to intravenous drug users taking part in a needle exchange program. ( AP Photo/Rick Callahan)

A North Carolina Senate bill that attempts to tighten syringe service programs has caused alarm among some public health advocates. 

Senate Bill 607 adds more accountability to needle exchange programs that advocates say are crucial in fighting opioid use disorder. The legislation is sponsored by Republican Senators Joyce Krawiec and Chuck Edwards.

It would require that needle exchange programs be offered in locations that provide professional counseling or rehabilitation services. The bill also mandates treatment for those who use illegal drugs, background checks for staffers, and special identifying markings for syringes and supplies. Mobile needle exchange programs would be banned.

Opponents of the legislation say the requirements would effectively shut down many syringe services, which already face budget constraints.

Colin Miller co-founded the Twin City Harm Reduction Collective. Miller tells The Winston-Salem Journal that "this bill was not written by people who have any understanding of public health or harm reduction.”

While some believe that needle exchange programs enable drug users, advocates say they help reduce the spread of Hepatitis C and HIV and keep needles off the streets.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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