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Needle Exchange Programs

By Michael Blankenship

The House voted to end a 21-year-old ban and allow federal funding of needle exchange programs. It also voted to allow the District to use its own money for such a program. There's one catch: the programs cannot be located "within 1,000 feet of a public or private day care center, elementary school, vocational school, secondary school, college, junior college, or university, or any public swimming pool, park, playground, video arcade, or youth center, or an event sponsored by any such entity." This would render whole sections of cities off-limits. And it would effectively kill the District's one needle exchange program. None of this is a done deal. The Senate version of the bill doesn't have those onerous restrictions. When the House and Senate meet in conference committee to hash out the final legislation, this restrictive language must be removed...continue to full post

Full post as published by The Justice Gambit on August 12, 2009 (boomark / email).