Poll For The Heroin Response Working Group

Posted: July 5, 2017

Everyone,

As the CACP representative on the Heroin Response Working Group I have been asked to poll our members’ position on a law enforcement/harm reduction/public health partnership relating to needle exchange sites for intravenous drug users. The partnership would be a passive one, meaning law enforcement would not target individuals going to or leaving such sites and, in essence, leave those sites alone. The partnership would involve local law enforcement maybe making a joint statement with their local treatment and public health services supporting the idea of safe disposal of used needles and syringe access sites. It would be implied that law enforcement would then agree to not target individuals going to or coming from those sites.

I know this may be a contentious topic and I am happy to hear your positions for and against such a partnership. I ask that you keep in mind we are not talking about supervised  injection sites. We are discussing specific locations where intravenous drug users can exchange their used needles for new ones, for the purpose of curbing the spread of Hep B, Hep C, HIV, and AIDS. As we are all very aware, individuals with those diseases pose a very real threat to our officers who deal with them on the street. There is also hope that such sites would be a connection point for intravenous drug users to start accessing other services such as treatment and rehabilitation. This partnership is one of many proposals on the table for Colorado Law Enforcement, Public Health, and Harm Reduction to get a handle on the ever-spreading epidemic of drug use and dependency in our state. 

Your insights and opinions are welcome! 

Thanks to all!
Rick Brandt

Folks can respond directly to me at [email protected]