Auburn councilors heard from state officials about syringe safety programs during their meeting Monday as the council looks into creating an ordinance to govern how they might operate in the city.
Councilors last month placed a six-month moratorium on new syringe exchange programs operating in the city until it can look into developing an ordinance; no such programs currently operate in the city.
Municipalities cannot enact syringe exchange ordinances that are inconsistent with state legislation, he said.
The state enacted safe syringe program legislation nearly 30 years ago, according to city attorney Dan Stockford, but there have been some changes to the program in more recent years.
The city can outline where the programs can operate through zoning, it can influence hours of operation (as long as it is nondiscriminatory), and it can outline requirements for the program to coordinate with the city’s public safety departments, along with influencing some other aspects of operating a safe syringe program in the city, he said.
However, it is likely the city would face a legal challenge if it tried to ban or limit the programs in the city, he said. The city would also not be allowed to adopt licensing requirements that are at odds with what is outlined in state legislation.
For a safe syringe program to operate in Maine it must get certification, enroll all clients, prohibit minors from accessing syringes through the program, adopt policies and procedures for its operation, provide client confidentiality, provide data to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, provide education and referral services, and take and dispose of used syringes safely, along with other stipulations, he said.
Part of the current legislation allows a syringe exchange of one per up to 100, meaning for every one used syringe returned, a person can get up to 100 unused syringes, though that does not mean everyone in a syringe program is getting that rate of exchange, according to Maine Opioid Response Director Gordon Smith.
The exchange number often varies by syringe availability, how far away someone lives, and other factors, he said. Some programs do a strict 1-to-1 exchange, while others do a 1-to-50 exchange.
Councilors in Lewiston have also been debating a syringe exchange ordinance, with most of the discussion focused on the exchange rate.
Up until more recent years, no towns had their own syringe exchange ordinances. The programs operated primarily under state legislation, Smith said.
He said he understand the frustration and concern people have when they see used needles littering public areas, he said. There is a need to strike a balance between the occurrence of syringe litter and the public health risk that poses, with the need to prevent infectious diseases from spreading among people using intravenous drugs, he said.
He and Anne Sites, director of the state’s infectious disease prevention program, shared some statistics and data around drug use and safe syringe programs during the meeting.
There is no evidence that safe syringe programs cause more people to use drugs, Smith said.
Safe syringe programs are aimed at harm reduction, Sites said. Because drug abstinence is not an effective strategy to prevent drug use and keep people using drugs safe, it is better to provide clean syringes to people who are going to use intravenous drugs so they are less likely to contract an infectious disease by reusing needles or sharing needles.
The programs also provide education to people who are using drugs, along with facilitating HIV and hepatitis testing, and provide services and referrals for food, housing, recovery services and assistance, she said. They also provide people with wound care supplies.
People are five times more likely to enter a substance treatment program when they are enrolled in a safe syringe program, she said. People are also three times more likely to reduce or stop using drugs when they go through one of these programs. And she said safe syringe programs help reduce the incidence of HIV and hepatitis C by 50%.
Enrollment in syringe exchange programs statewide nearly doubled from 2023 to 2024, she said, with a little more than 8,300 people participating in 2023 and nearly 16,000 participating in 2024.
She also told councilors some studies suggest that cities with safe syringe programs have fewer improperly disposed syringes.
Ward 5 Councilor Leroy Walker Sr. said there is nothing requiring safe syringe programs to pick up syringes improperly disposed of on city property. Employees with the police department, public works and the recreation department do not feel comfortable disposing of needles that are found tossed out on city streets.
There needs to be something more done about that before he considers supporting a syringe exchange ordinance, he said.
Ward 2 Councilor Timothy Cowan asked Smith if there are any innovative syringe collection programs other municipalities have implemented. Smith said he would share those ideas with councilors, but didn’t go into more detail during the meeting Monday.
It is unclear when the council will pick the discussion up again at a future meeting.
