User:Brent Siegel/Needle and syringe programmes

Environmental Concerns: SEPs Do Not Increase Litter
Activist groups claim there is no way to ensure SEP users will be properly disposed of. Peer reviewed studies suggest that there are less improperly disposed of syringes in cities with needle exchange programs than in cities without. Other studies of similar design find that syringe exchange program drop boxes were associated with an overall decrease of improper syringe disposal (over 98% decrease) and going further from said syringe exchange sites increases the amount of improperly disposed needles. Other ethnographic studies find evidence that criminal related drug possession laws further serve to increase improperly disposed of needles, and decreasing the severity of possession laws may positively impact proper syringe disposal, this corroborates the CDC's own guidelines on syringe disposal, which claim "Studies have found that syringe litter is more likely in areas without SSPs".

Environmental Concerns: SEPs Do Increase Litter
On the other hand, there is data to suggest SEPs do increase improper syringe disposal. Opposition groups contribute their own proof through photographic evidence of increased needle litter, additionally, opponents argue that programs which don't mandate a 1:1 needle exchange encourage the more convenient improper discarding of needles when the programs are not open or aren't accepting needle returns. Additionally, many programs allow for unlimited access to needles, which opponents argue increases litter to a much higher degree on the basis of increasing total needles in circulation. Portland residents in areas where syringe acquisition is unlimited claim to be "drowning in needles" and picking up upwards of 100 per week, additionally, government action in increasing the amount of syringe disposal boxes is slow.

California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
Within California, those opposed to syringe exchange programs have frequently invoked the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as a means to bar syringe exchange programs from operating, citing the environmental impact of improper syringe disposals. Most notably SEP opposition within Santa Cruz, and Orange County -- whose only syringe exchange program The Orange County Needle Exchange Program (OCNEP) was blocked from operating in October, 2019 by an Orange County lawsuit which charged the program with creating hazardous conditions and litter for residents. The OCNEP contests that public needle litter still exists after the shutdown of their program.

Legislation in California signed by governor Gavin Newsom in 2021, AB-1344, aimed to block the use of CEQA to challenge SEPs. The provision states that

"Needle and syringe exchange services application submissions, authorizations, and operations performed pursuant to this chapter shall be exempt from review under the California Environmental Quality Act, Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code."

The provision was passed on the basis of curtailing the Opioid epidemic. There is no part of the bill which explicitly addresses the environmental concerns of the plaintiffs.