GROUP SEEKS TO REINSTATE NEEDLE PLAN

Supporters of the controversial needle exchange program are making a
push to bring it back to San Diego.

The program was shut down in July after the resignations of
councilmen Michael Zucchet and Ralph Inzunza, who provided two of the
needed five City Council votes to keep it running.

But with a full City Council, support from Mayor Jerry Sanders and a
new state law, needle exchange advocates are confident that the
program could again be running in North Park and downtown soon.

Sanders will meet with the Alliance Healthcare Foundation, the
program funder, to develop a detailed proposal, said his spokesman,
Fred Sainz. Sanders, the city's former police chief, supports
clean-needle exchange in concept as a way to combat the spread of
AIDS and hepatitis.

The mayor plans on meeting with them and introducing a piece of
legislation, Sainz said, estimating that it could go before the
council in March or early April.

Under a state law that went into effect Jan. 1, the council only has
to vote once to approve the program. In the past, it had to declare a
state of emergency every two weeks to keep the needle exchange going.

The Monger Group, a political and government relations consultant
hired by Alliance Healthcare, is meeting with council members and
providing them with any needed information or data.

We think it's important that it go (to the council) as soon as
possible, said Linda Lloyd, Alliance Healthcare's vice president for
programming.

The City Council voted 5-4 in November 2001 to approve a pilot needle
exchange program. It launched in East Village the following July.

In February 2003, the program was expanded to North Park, despite
concerns by some residents and business owners who feared it would
attract drug addicts who would shoot up in their neighborhood.

Once a week, a trailer was driven to each location for a few hours to
provide drug treatment counseling and exchange used syringes for new ones.

When the program was halted, there were about 60 clients downtown and
35 in North Park, said Fran Butler, executive director of the Family
Health Center, which operates the trailers.

The trailers still go to East Village on Thursday evenings and North
Park on Friday mornings to provide drug counseling. But the number of
clients has fallen to about three at each site.

The Family Health Center needle exchange program has already received
the required state approval to resume operations, said Adrian
Kwiatkowski of the Monger Group.

Council President Scott Peters plans to wait until the mayor meets
with health officials before putting the issue on the agenda, said
Pam Hardy, his communications director. He supports the program.

Along with Peters, council members Tony Young, Donna Frye and Toni
Atkins have supported the program in the past. Councilman Brian
Maienschein and Jim Madaffer have voted against it.

New councilmen Ben Hueso and Kevin Faulconer have not taken an
official stand. Neither has met with anyone from the Monger Group.

I will look at the results and keep an open mind, Faulconer said.

Lloyd said the mayor's support of the program, which Alliance
continues to fund at $130,000 this year, should help their chances to
get at least one more vote.

It certainly gives our new council members confidence that there is
city support for it, she said.