SACRAMENTO, California — Placer County officials are pushing back on a proposed plan to distribute hypodermic needles in the county.
The organization running one of these programs in Sacramento, Safer Alternatives thru Networking and Education (SANE), applied to expand to Placer County. The program is meant to help stop the spread of infectious diseases from sharing needles.
Now, the Placer County Board of Supervisors is considering an urgency ordinance to ban the establishment, operation, use and/or participation of needle exchange or distribution programs, according to a Facebook post by Placer County Supervisor Shanti Landon.
Placer County Sheriff Wayne Woo and other officials sent an open letter opposing the plan, writing "millions of unaccounted syringes are on the streets, in the parks, and in the community."
He also noted there's no information on where SANE would be collecting and distributing needles.
"The County, the Town and their residents have a right to know whether needles are going to be collected and possibly distributed near their neighborhoods, schools, libraries, and parks," Woo wrote.
Placer County District Attorney Morgan Gire also said, "the wholesale acceptance of illicit, and oftentimes deadly, drug use in our community runs counter to our robust educational, preventative, and rehabilitative efforts that are currently saving lives.”
But SANE has been effective in its goal of stopping the spread of infections, according to epidemiologist and Sacramento mayoral candidate Flojaune Cofer.
"We’re giving ourselves time to be able to allow people to go through the natural stages that occur when someone is experiencing addiction," Cofer said. "And I know that that can feel scary to people, but we can assure you that there’s evidence that these programs work."
Cofer says there's often pushback because "we don't want to be seen as glorifying or incentivizing something that's harmful," especially at a time when there are a high number of overdose deaths.
According to a Placer County staff report, SANE estimates it could distribute 200,000 syringes annually to the southwest part of Placer County, generally the areas between Lincoln and Auburn, including Lincoln, Auburn, Loomis, Rocklin and Roseville. They would go to about 400 expected participants.
Officials say the ban could give the county time to monitor areas in California allowing and regulating syringe services for best practices.
If passed, the ban would only be in place until Oct. 27 for the unincorporated areas of Placer County. According to the staff report, officials are also anticipating a permanent ordinance at a future board meeting.
