LaMalfa introduces bill to ban federal funding of needle programs

Congressman Doug LaMalfa introduced Mandatory End to Needle Distribution in Our Neighborhoods Act that would reinstate and strengthen the federal funding prohibition on needle programs that was repealed in the FY2016 Omnibus.

“Needle exchange and distribution programs have quickly become a danger to our area,” LaMalfa said. “The needle distribution facility operating out of Chico serves as an example of a poorly run program that hands out needles to drug users with zero concern for how or where they plan to use them. Incredibly, they often hand them out in parks where families with children would ordinarily congregate. During COVID-19, they’ve even started delivering them to addicts’ homes. Used needles are showing up in our parks, on sidewalks, in parking lots, and virtually everywhere, serving as a danger to anyone who encounters them. If ‘harm reduction’ is the goal, we shouldn’t be giving drug users the tools to harm themselves in the first place. The MEND Our Neighborhoods Act will serve as the first step to completely eliminating needle distribution programs nationwide. Enabling drug users should not take precedent over the health of our neighborhoods.”

“Toxic compassion has taken the place of true caring, detox, and addiction services,” said Chico City Councilmember Sean Morgan. “It’s time to stop causing distress to our neighborhoods by encouraging addicts to stay addicted. We’ve seen in Chico these programs are not well run and ‘needle litter’ ends up all over the city.”