THE SYRINGE IN THE SANDBOX

SAN FRANCISCO doesn't want syringes in its sandboxes - or anywhere
else in public. But that's not to say a clean-needle giveaway program
should end. It just needs to be managed more sensibly.

The city hands out, no questions asked, an enormous number of
needles, more than 2 million per year at last count. The reason: the
city has an estimated 25,000 injection drug users. Among this crowd,
shared needles can pass along hepatitis and HIV, but clean syringes
will cut down on infection. It's a real-world accommodation to the
drug abuse that exists.

This humane and well-intended program has run for years, but it has
reached the breaking point as far as public trust. Why? Because dirty
needles show up in public places where users congregate and toss them away.

They're on sidewalks, lawns, in alleys and doorways. Intended to
minimize risk, the needles can do just the opposite, if a tainted one
jabs a passerby accidentally. This risk is hard to measure because
there are no firm numbers on accidental infections from dirty needles.

But the tossed-out syringes come with symbolic value. What kind of
city allows its population to freely dump such potentially deadly
waste on the civic lap? Parents, pedestrians, visitors - just about
anyone - must wonder what sort of geniuses run City Hall when they
step over one on the ground. Right now, the program amounts to a
giveaway with no requirement or provisions for returning the needles
or disposing of them safely. If users won't take responsibility, then
the city needs to step in.

It's past time to clean up a program that the public has generally
supported. Several steps are worth trying though not all may work.

First, users need to return the needles for safe disposal. More
clinics are needed to handle this task though no neighborhood wants
such activity. Metal carry kits can allow users to store used
syringes until they can be returned.

Also, homeless workers and park clean-up crews should be equipped
with disposal boxes. The city should strongly consider the higher
cost of retractable needles that can minimize the danger of
accidental jabs - though users prefer the customary design. It's a
sad commentary on San Francisco's politics that we even have to say
that public safety must take priority over the addicts' preferences.

It's time to tighten up this program before it leads to a loss of
innocent life.