Council Grapples with Discarded Needles

By Zendelle Bouchard

At its Sept. 17 meeting, the Sanford City Council began discussions on a possible solution to the problem of discarded syringes that litter some areas of the city.

City Manager Steve Buck presented detailed information on the history of the state-licensed Syringe Service Program (SSP) in Sanford. The program, which operates in 13 communities across Maine, initially distributed syringes (needles) on a 1:1 exchange basis. If someone wanted a new syringe, they had to turn in a used one. But during the pandemic, Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services used the emergency rulemaking process to change the 1:1 exchange to a 1:100 exchange in an effort to combat rising rates of hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV. (Maine has some of the highest rates in the nation of these blood-borne illnesses.) DHHS’ emergency rules were later converted to regular rules, and the current 1:1+ program allows SSPs to distribute boxes of 100 syringes even if a client has none to exchange.

Data from the Sanford SSP, Maine Access Points, shows that in the period from Nov. 1, 2022, to Oct. 31, 2023, 440,998 syringes were collected and 460,720 were distributed. Buck pointed out that leaves 19,722 syringes not turned in. During the city’s cleanup of the Heritage Crossing homeless encampment in June, an estimated 14,716 needles were collected. That leaves more than 5,000 syringes unaccounted for just from that one-year period of distribution.

Buck has had several meetings with officials from the Maine Centers for Disease Control to stress the problem of inappropriately discarded needles in our city parks, trails and parking areas. “We have failed to get the recognition from the CDC that there is a public health hazard out there from these needles,” he said. He is looking for an acceptable solution that will protect intravenous drug users from blood-borne pathogens while also addressing the danger to the general public from discarded syringes. He noted that Portland, Bangor and Waterville are also dealing with similar issues.

Mayor Becky Brink agreed. “We have to protect the people on drugs, but we can’t let it interfere with others. We have to find a balance,” she said.

Councilor Pete Tranchemontagne called for a vote as soon as possible to get the needle exchange program removed from Sanford completely. “The citizens don’t want this…the CDC is not working with us,” he stated. “I want it out.” Councilor Ayn Hanselmann agreed that the greater public is now in harm’s way due to the new exchange rate.

Councilor Nate Hitchcock pointed out that the state controls where SSPs are located, so the city may not get to decide if the program can operate in Sanford, but he advocated for a return to the 1:1 exchange system to balance the two health crises.

Councilor Jonathan Martell asked for more information on the city’s legal options with regard to the SSP, so councilors can vote on the direction they want to pursue. Mayor Brink said they will get that info and have another discussion that will be open for public input.