PEORIA NEEDLE LADY BUSTED IN PEKIN, BUT CHARGES LATER DROPPED

Beth Wehrman, an Iowa and Illinois harm reduction worker and
Registered Nurse who last year gained notoriety as the "Peoria Needle
Lady" after town officials there passed an ordinance barring her from
doing street-side needle exchanges (http://www.drcnet.org/wol/236.html#peoria),
was arrested last week in nearby Pekin, IL, on syringe possession
charges after police received a complaint of "suspicious activity"
where she was going about her work.

But Wehrman told DRCNet Thursday evening that the charges had been
dropped after the Tazewell County Attorney Stewart Unmolz conceded
that her activities were protected under Illinois criminal code
provisions that provide an exemption for public health workers engaged
in research activities. Under an agreement with the Chicago Recovery
Alliance (http://www.anypositivechange.org), all needle exchange
participants in Wehrman's Lifeguard Harm Reduction Services program
(http://www.lifeguardonline.org) provide data for researchers tracking
HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C infections.

"The police chief isn't happy," Wehrman told DRCNet, "but I plan on
talking to him to explain what I do, and I hope to speak with police
officers at roll call there. They may not like it, but they have to
accept it. They have to understand that even in Pekin there is a
really high hepatitis burden. The needle exchange is needed so people
can protect themselves."

Police pulled her over on her way out of town, Wehrman said, but
didn't seem to know quite how to deal with her and her car full of
dirty needles and prevention materials. "It took the cops 20 minutes
to come back and tell me to follow them to the station, and the
lieutenant on duty seemed convinced I was a drug user," she related.
"He asked me three times which drugs I was using."

Pekin police eventually decided to charge her, Wehrman said, noting
that she was never fingerprinted or given a Miranda warning. She
didn't even realize she had been arrested until receiving a call the
next day from a reporter who had reviewed police logs, she added.

Wehrman vowed to return to Pekin, "although I don't think I'll go to
that same spot," she said. "Gosh, in my book this is pure and simple
harassment, and we just have to keep on going on," she said. "Maybe
the cops will come around."

Now, if only Wehrman can get the same cooperation in Peoria. When that
city last May passed an ordinance requiring needle exchanges to take
place in buildings, Wehrman searched for a suitable location, but was
unable to find a landlord willing to rent to her. "I don't do
exchanges on the street anymore; I go to people's homes and distribute
syringes. Some of those people become secondary distributors. It's not
like having a building, but it does build up involvement and
participation by the affected community."