By Mark Hansel
NKyTribune managing editor
Northern Kentucky regional needle exchange received a shot in the arm Monday when Grant County voted in favor of allowing a program.
It paves the way for the first Northern Kentucky Health District needle exchange program, which will be administered in Williamstown.
The Williamstown City Council voted to allow a needle exchange program in the city in August.
Any hopes that the decision in Grant County might encourage elected officials in Boone County to support needle exchange, however, may have been short lived.
State Sen. John Schickel, R-Union, spoke out against needle exchange at Tuesday’s Boone County Fiscal Court meeting. Schickel also indicated the Fiscal Court supports his stance.
“I think the reporting and the arguments have all been very one-sided, in favor of what I think is horrible, horrible public policy for our community,” Schickel said.
A needle exchange program would allow heroin users to exchange dirty needles for clean ones at Northern Kentucky Health District locations in Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties. Health officials say the practice would limit the sharing of needles, which increases the risk of contracting and spreading hepatitis C or HIV.
Needle exchange was included as part of Senate Bill 192, which was approved by the Kentucky Legislature and signed into law in March 2015. The program is contingent upon approval of the counties and cities where it would be administered through a region’s health department.
The measure passed unanimously in the House and Schickel was one of four senators who voted against SB 192.
Schickel said the seeds of a heroin epidemic were planted when penalties for those convicted of dealing drugs were decreased and legislation was enacted that made it more difficult to obtain prescription painkillers.
“I’ve been accused of having a closed mind on this issue by some folks and I would say to those folks, ‘open your eyes,’” Schickel said. “In my mind, we enabled heroin dealers to come in our community and all over Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati, and wreak havoc and death on our young people.”
He sees a needle exchange program as a permission slip for heroin users.
“We say, just say no but, if you do it take this clean needle, so you don’t get sick,” Schickel said. “Just say no, but, if you happen to be an addict, we’re going to excuse what you did.”
Schickel said he is becoming increasingly frustrated with health department officials and others who have come out in support of needle exchange.
“(The Northern Kentucky Health Department) works for us, we don’t work for them,” he said. “Now they are going around Northern Kentucky, we’re paying them, to tell us that we should provide the very hardware for drug addicts to kill themselves in the name of disease prevention.”
Representatives from St. Elizabeth Healthcare, which also supports a needle exchange program, attended the meeting, but did not speak.
Schickel received a round of applause from those in attendance at the conclusion of his address.
The dozen or so in support of his position at the meeting may, or may not, represent the majority in Boone County. It is becoming increasingly clear, however, that a regional needle exchange program lies in the hands of the Florence City Council and the Boone County Fiscal Court.
Elected leaders in Covington, Newport, Kenton County and Campbell County appear ready to support needle exchange, as long as it is administered throughout the region.
The concern among officials in those jurisdictions is that if needle exchange is limited, the communities that offer it will be deluged with a disproportionate share of the region’s intravenous drug users.
“I know the arguments, but I don’t think they are valid,” Schickel said.
It is widely believed that Boone County does not yet have enough support on the Fiscal Court to approve a needle exchange resolution. Schickel bolstered that belief by thanking the Fiscal Court for standing strong against needle exchange.
“I’ve talked to all of you personally about this and I know it hasn’t been easy, there has been a lot of pressure,” Schickel said. “I want to thank you all for what you’ve done and what you continue to do, in this area.”
The Boone County Fiscal Court is expected to conduct a public hearing on needle exchange in March, followed by a formal vote on a resolution.
Contact Mark Hansel at mark.hansel@nkytrib.com
*********
You may be interested in this related NKyTribune story on the growing problem of Hepatitis C in Northern Kentucky, among the highest in the country.
Kudos to Senator John Schickel. This State Legislator is an oasis of sanity in a world gone mad. Thank you Sir, and many thanks to Mark Hansel for a very fair and balanced article. The major newspaper in our area is not fair and balanced.
Kevin, I couldn’t agree more with your statement. Albeit we cannot force citizens to live a good, clean life, however, it is our responsibility as Christians to look at any situation with enough intelligence to stand on the side of right. And, Senator Schickel has never been short on intelligence.
Look at what has happened in San Francisco – they started a needle exchange decades ago. Now public use of drugs, used needles and human waste is rampant.