Following months of a tense back and forth on how best to regulate needle exchange services in Lewiston, the City Council approved a first reading of an ordinance Tuesday.

Proposed early this year in response to concerns over needle waste in public places, the ordinance regulates where such services can be located and allows only one syringe service provider to operate in Lewiston.

Spurwink, at 1155 Lisbon St., is the only syringe service provider operating in the city following the closure of the Church of Safe Injection on Main Street.

Church of Safe Injection, which was arguably the target of much of the ordinance language, had its license to operate revoked by the state after the building it rents was condemned.

While syringe service providers across the state are licensed and overseen by the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, officials have faced pressure to implement local solutions.

Much of the debate between councilors in recent weeks has centered on how syringe service programs handle the exchange of dirty needles for clean ones. An amendment Tuesday removed all references to requiring a 1-to-1 needle exchange, which state and local health care workers have opposed.

While some councilors have argued that limiting providers to a 1-to-1 exchange would help address needle waste, public health professionals across Maine have said the limit would increase the risk of spreading blood-borne diseases and hamstring providers’ ability to be flexible with patients. 

The debate over the exchange ratio stems from a 2022 change in state law that allowed syringe service providers to give out as many as 100 needles for every dirty needle received. 

Councilors were still split on the issue Tuesday, ultimately voting 4-3 to remove the 1-to-1 language.

Councilor Eryn Soule-Leclair offered a last-minute proposal to cap the number of syringes that providers could give one person each day at 30, but the amendment failed by the same 4-3 vote, with Councilors Josh Nagine, Scott Harriman, Michael Roy and David Chittim opposed.

Soule-Leclair argued that Lewiston has “not put our citizens first” when it comes to regulating needle exchange programs. After the vote on the proposed cap failed, she said, “I want to apologize to my constituents, and theirs.”

“You matter, and I care. I’m sorry the rest of the council do not,” she said.

Others have argued that there is no evidence that regulating the exchange ratio will lead to less needle waste, and that the state has asked Lewiston to “stay the course” on the current rules given a continuing decline in overdose deaths.

During a previous meeting, Nagine said his support for maintaining the current exchange ratio was predicated on working with “a good partner,” referring to Spurwink.

Harriman has said the city should be focused on ways to improve disposal and collection efforts, and the council Tuesday discussed using opioid settlement funds to improve the program.

Public Works Director Kevin Gagne said the city maintains 23 sharps containers citywide, and also dispatches an on-call staffer to respond to resident reports of improperly disposed needles. He said four units per year are upgraded to heavy duty, “vandal-proof” units.

Gagne told the council that so far this year, they have collected 692 needles in the sharps containers, which some councilors said is evidence that the containers are not properly utilized.

Nagine said the containers are not all in ideal locations, and should be looked at, as well as other possible ways that opioid settlement funds can be used to combat the issue.