{"id":5172,"date":"2021-01-27T11:00:24","date_gmt":"2021-01-27T18:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/?p=5172"},"modified":"2021-01-27T19:30:11","modified_gmt":"2021-01-28T02:30:11","slug":"democrat-majority-board-of-supervisors-approves-needle-exchange-program-for-drug-addicts-in-san-diego","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/?p=5172","title":{"rendered":"Democrat majority Board of Supervisors approves needle exchange program for drug addicts in San Diego"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by Justin Culetu\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors<\/span> voted 3-2 in favor of creating a needle exchange program to keep drug users healthy. Chairman Nathan Fletcher along with Supervisors Nora Vargas and Terra Lawson-Remer, the three Democrats on the board, supported it. Jim Desmond and Joel Anderson, the Republicans on the board, were opposed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This decision reversed a <\/span>23-year ban the county had on needle exchange. Needle exchange programs are aimed at preventing overdoses and reducing transmission of HIV or Hepatitis C among intravenous drug users. However, there are cons to programs like this, which Desmond acknowledged.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Desmond, the needle exchange program has the appearance of promoting drug abuse. \u201cI would like to see an emphasis on prevention,\u201d he added. \u201cI see that needle exchange (would) promote health among those who are using,\u2019 but I think we\u2019re kind of treating the symptom instead of the cause.\u201d On the other hand, Supervisor Anderson stated that he was not fully against the proposal. His concern was \u201cvoting and then later learning that all the clinics are going to be located in my district.\u201d Not seeing a plan before voting was his issue, adding, \u201cIs there some middle ground? I hate to vote against this.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The plan for the needle exchange service will be presented in about 3 months by the county\u2019s chief administrative officer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

All of the Democrat supervisors who voted in favor of the program did not seem to weigh in the possible negative outcomes of this program. For one, all government money is taxpayer money, so the funds that will be used to pay for this program will come from taxpayers. Additionally, recovery.org<\/a> lists more cons than pros when it comes to needle exchange programs. Those cons include:<\/span><\/p>\n