NEEDLE EXCHANGE PROGRAM TO RESUME

Clinics In North Park, East Village Reinstated

San Diego rejoined scores of cities across the country yesterday when
it reinstated a needle exchange program for drug users.

In a 6-1 vote, the City Council brought back the program, abandoned a
year ago when it lost political support. Mayor Jerry Sanders, the
city's former police chief, led the move to reinstate the mobile
clinics in the face of opposition from some residents of North Park
and the East Village, where the exchanges take place.

San Diego will again be the county's only city with such a program,
which includes drug counseling. It joins eight other cities in the
state, along with 14 California counties, to offer such a service.
San Diego County supervisors have repeatedly rejected proposals for
such programs over the past two decades.

Supporters say the program is key to battling AIDS and hepatitis C,
which can be spread by sharing dirty needles. Opponents say the
government is, in effect, promoting drug use.

Joel Harrison, who lives a block from the North Park needle exchange
site, said he'll be glad to see the program return. At first, he was
upset about having drug users near his home. But he said he was
swayed after doing research about the rate of hepatitis C and HIV in
the neighborhood.

"The mobile clinics are helping get dirty needles off the street,"
Harrison said after the meeting.

But Luauna Stines, a pastor from Ramona who addressed the City
Council, said the money would be better spent on faith-based drug counseling.

"They don't need another needle," she said. "They need direction."

The City Council first approved a pilot exchange program in November
2001 on a 5-4 vote. Funded by the Alliance Healthcare Foundation and
operated by Family Health Centers of San Diego, the program was
launched in the East Village the next July.

A trailer was set up on 15th Street just two blocks from police
headquarters on Thursday evenings. In February 2003, the program
expanded to North Park, where a trailer parked at 31st Street and
University Avenue every Friday morning.

In three years, 348,832 dirty syringes were collected and 285,524
clean ones were distributed, according to the city. Most were traded
at the East Village location, which had about 34 clients daily, said
Dr. James Dunford, medical director for the city's paramedics.

But until this year, local jurisdictions had to declare a state of
emergency every two weeks to keep their needle exchange program
active. The City Council lost votes to approve a state of emergency
in July 2005 when Councilmen Michael Zucchet and Ralph Inzunza
resigned. The program ceased that month. However, the trailers
continued to provide drug counseling.

In January, Ben Hueso and Kevin Faulconer were elected to replace
Inzunza and Zucchet. Also, a new state law allows local jurisdictions
to authorize the exchanges without declaring a state of emergency
every two weeks.

With a full council and a new mayor, proponents of the program sought
to revive it. Alliance Healthcare, a local nonprofit organization,
pledged to give $386,400 to pay for supplies and staffing the program
for two years.

Voting for the program yesterday were Council President Scott Peters
and councilmembers Toni Atkins, Tony Young, Donna Frye, Hueso and Faulconer.

Councilman Brian Maienschein cast the lone vote in opposition. Jim
Madaffer, who opposes the program, was absent yesterday.

In remarks before the council vote, Leslie Wade, who represented the
East Village Association, praised the exchange program. But, she
said, as more people move into the neighborhood, it might be time to
consider a new location for the mobile clinic.

Atkins said she hopes to develop a policy for future sites soon. She
stressed the need for community input as to where the needle exchange
should be allowed.

"These are difficult to site," she said, adding that the North Park
location may be the site of a future library.

Patrick Freeman, a heroin user who said he has been clean for 16
months, told the council that the workers at the mobile clinics were
the only ones to reach out to him. Although he didn't take advantage,
he appreciated their efforts.

"The advice was there," he said. "They tried to help me."

Staff writer Leslie Branscomb contributed to this story.