Atlantic City Moves Ahead with Needle Exchange Program
Atlantic City has become the first New Jersey municipality to challenge
the state's ban on needle-exchange programs; city-council members
recently approved an ordinance to distribute free syringes to intravenous-drug
users, the Associated Press reported June 16.
The ordinance allows Atlantic City health officials to distribute
clean needles to drug users in an effort to curb the spread of HIV
and Hepatitis C. "This is the moral, human, and correct thing
to do," said City Council President Craig Callaway.
The program could be in operation this fall. State Attorney General
Peter Harvey said he would review the city's plans before deciding
whether to stop the needle giveaway.
"Our office has serious concerns about any policy or practice
which facilitates or encourages drug use, particularly heroin or
cocaine," Harvey said. "We should be focused upon extracting
men and women from drug addiction, and making resources available
for regional drug-treatment programs, particularly for people who
don't have health insurance."
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