69° M/SUNNY, Needle exchange program approved in Lake County
Last Modified: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 at 3:32 p.m.
Lake County this week became the 18th California county to initiate a needle-exchange program aimed at stemming blood-borne diseases like HIV, AIDS and Hepatitis C.
The program will allow IV drug users to avoid some of the harmful health pitfalls of their addictions without leaving the county, said Lake County Health Public Health Officer Dr. Craig McMillan.
They currently travel to Sonoma and Mendocino counties, which have programs, to exchange their used needles and syringes for clean ones, he said.
The program also will give outreach workers the opportunity to potentially get drug users into rehabilitation programs, McMillan said.
The department has not developed a program, he said.
It’s unknown how many IV drug users there are in Lake County, but estimates based on HIV and hepatitis infection rates and anecdotal information range from several hundred to several thousand, McMillan said.
An estimated 220,000 IV drug users live in metropolitan areas in California, according to the Oakland-based Harm Reduction Coalition.
It estimates 10 million syringes are being exchanged each year.
Lake County supervisors approved starting up a program on a 4-0 vote Tuesday.
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