Free sterile needles and safe methods of disposal are part of a new Durham County Department of Public Health program aimed at the opioid drug epidemic.
Starting today, kits containing clean syringes, containers for used needles, and printed material on relevant health services are available through the Public Health Pharmacy, located at 414 East Main Street in Durham.
Durham County’s program joins twenty-six others across North Carolina, following a July 2016 law allowing nongovernment and government organizations to start safe-syringe programs that follow state guidelines.
Data collected by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services shows a steady increase in deaths related to medication and drug overdoses since 1999, mostly driven by opioid drug use, according to a report on the first year of safe-syringe programs in North Carolina. In 2016, an average of four residents a day died from an opioid overdose in North Carolina, according to the DHHS report. Unintentional deaths from opioid overdose increased from around 100 in 1999 to more than 1,380 in 2016.
The free kit contains ten sterile needles, alcohol swabs, tourniquets, sharps container, and condoms. The kits also contain information on health services relevant to those who might be injecting drugs. About 250 kits are currently available, says Khali Gallman, communications manager at Durham Department of Public Health, but more will be made available as needed. The kits will be provided in a confidential manner, the county says.
In addition to the kits, the safe-syringe program also provides access to Naloxone, the opioid overdose antidote commonly known as Narcan. Consultation and referral for mental health treatment and substance abuse issues are also available. In addition, the program stresses HIV and hepatitis C screening and care, diseases associated with intravenous drug use.
Services will be available outside of the pharmacy at mobile locations around the county. The pharmacy is open from eight thirty a.m. to five p.m. Monday to Friday.
