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West
Coast
Forward,
East
Cost
Back:
San
Diego
Needle
Exchange
One
Step
Closer,
Defeat
in
Prince
George's
County,
Maryland
10/20/00
Last month, DRCNet reported
on preliminary steps toward a privately-run but city-approved needle exchange
program to deal with a burgeoning Hepatitis C epidemic (http://www.drcnet.org/wol/151.html#sdexchange).
On Monday, the San Diego
City Council officially declared a Hepatitis C emergency on a 5-2 vote,
paving the way for a well-crafted and broadly supported needle exchange
program.
"This is a real epidemic,"
Ian Trowbridge, a professor at Salk Institute and UCSD, told the San Diego
Union Tribune.
Along with declaring a medical
emergency, the city council has ordered the city manager to create a task
force to develop a one-year pilot program. The council will vote
on the issue again before any needles are distributed.
The city's turnaround on
needle exchange stands in stark contrast to the position of San Diego County.
The county's Board of Supervisors has for a decade refused to allow such
programs.
Trowbridge noted that the
county's own data shows that the number of cases of hepatitis C doubled
between 1998 and 1999 in San Diego County.
"I don't know how many cases
the county needs before it declares a state of emergency," he said.
Wednesday's Washington Post
reported that the neighboring Prince George's County Council voted 5-3
against opening a needle exchange program in the county. Council
member Thomas Hendershot (D-New Carrollton), who introduced the proposal
in February, said his colleagues had ended a chance to help save lives
in a county that has the state's second highest number of AIDS cases.
-- END --
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Issue #156, 10/20/00
Drug Czar Resigns, McCaffrey to Step Down January 6th | Slouching Toward Putumayo: Plan Colombia Gears Up, Battle Front Heats Up, Europeans Throw Their Hands Up, Rights Group Issues Heads Up | Drug War Toll from Police Shootings Continues to Rise -- How Many Dead? Nobody Knows Because Congress Doesn't Care | West Coast Forward, East Cost Back: San Diego Needle Exchange One Step Closer, Defeat in Prince George's County, Maryland | Follow That Story: Tulia Relief Fund Issues Appeal | Barney Frank Makes Drug War an Issue, Again | Europeans Release 2000 Drug Report | The Reformer's Calendar | Editorial: Saying Goodbye (and Good Riddance) to a Drug Czar
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