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Clean needle program offered in Lucas County in effort to stop spread of disease

The Northwest Ohio Syringe Services provides sterile syringes in an effort to help keep those who inject drugs safe, but some say it enables users to keep using.

LUCAS COUNTY, Ohio — The Toledo-Lucas County Health Department is offering a program called Syringe Services that provides sterile syringes in an effort to stop the spread of disease.

While the program is aimed at keeping those who inject drugs safe, others argue it could be doing the opposite.

There are only 22 syringe programs in the state of Ohio and one of them is in Lucas County. The goal of syringe services is to help people who inject drugs to stay healthy.

They provide syringes and other clean, unused injection equipment in a non-judgmental, anonymous and supportive setting. The Northwest Ohio Syringe Services is a blood-borne pathogens prevention program.

People can come in with used needles and the Lucas County Health Department can properly dispose of them. Or people can also ask for clean syringes without an exchange and the process is completely anonymous.

Syringe services is provided not only at the TLCHD, but also at St. Paul's United Methodist Church and Talbot Clinical Services.

Some against the program say it enables drug users to keep using. But according to Drug Policy Facts, formerly known as Drug War Facts, they say the clean needle program reduces HIV and Hepatitis C transmission and that clean needle programs did not cause rates of drug use to increase.

"They do not increase drug use and they do not increase crime in areas around a syringe service programs. So you need to understand that they do not do either of those things," said Mahjida Steffin, a supervisor of injury prevention at the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department. "What they do is they teach people how to use drugs, how to prevent overdose for themselves and how to recognize and reverse an overdose for themselves. So they're teaching people how to save themselves and how to elongate their life and give them more time to make better decisions. It's all about reducing harm."

The founder of Racing for Recovery, a healing and prevention center focused on treatment, said the program makes it easier for drug users to get access to needles and potentially overdose.

"I appreciate the kindness in trying to reduce health factors such as AIDS or things like that," said Todd Crandell, founder of Racing for Recovery. "I also have concerns because as a former drug user, I'm looking at that as a way to continue to use drugs, and what if I overdose and die?"

If you are interested in more information on the Northwest Ohio Syringe Services or would like access to clean needles near you, click here

If you are looking ways to get help and stop drug use you can click here.

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