Maine lawmakers reject bill that would bring back strict limits on needle exchanges
A sharps disposal box sits beside Needlepoint Sancutary's set up at Camp Hope, an unhoused encampment in Bangor. The syringe service program hands out provisions and clean syringes along with kits containing fentanyl testing strips and the overdose reversal drug Naloxone. (Photo by Eesha Pendharkar/Maine Morning Star)
The Maine Legislature rejected a bill this week that would bring back limits on syringe services, following the recommendation of state public health experts and medical professionals.
LD 219, introduced by Rep. Anne-Marie Mastraccio (D-Sanford), would have limited the number of clean syringes that certified needle exchange programs can hand out, reverting to a one-for-one ratio that Maine required until 2022, when it adopted rules that allow participants to bring in just one used syringe to receive 100 clean ones.
The bill sparked lengthy debate in both chambers, particularly in the light of an HIV outbreak in Penobscot County that has primarily impacted the unhoused community that uses injectable drugs.
Several lawmakers highlighted the issue of syringe litter on roads, parks and on private property, which they blamed on the higher number of syringes people can access.
But ultimately, the majority of legislators supported the Health and Human Services Committee's recommendation to reject the bill, citing best practices supported by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services and other public health and harm reduction organizations.
The Senate voted 22-21 against the bill Thursday following a 76-69 House vote earlier this week.
Republican Sen. Marianne Moore, who represents Washington County and sits on the Health Committee, expressed concern about the outbreak spreading to other counties, including her district.
Needle exchanges face municipal pushback despite state, public health backing
'Limiting access to sterile syringes now will only make it harder to prevent, protect and control spread of disease in a county already underresourced and overburned,' she said.
'We all want cleaner streets, safer communities and less syringe litter,' she said, but if we are serious about addressing syringe waste, she encouraged her peers to increase funding for disposal kiosks and biohazard containers. 'Let's stay the course of evidence-based policy,' Moore added.
Other Republican senators disagreed. Sen. Matt Harrington of York County and Sen. Scott Cyrway of Kennebec County raised concerns about drug overdoses and 'decriminalizing drug culture.'
'This idea that these centers are somehow reducing harm to me, is ridiculous,' Harrington said, referring to certified Syringe Service Programs. 'This continuous nature of enabling this behavior… is just proven to be exacerbating this issue.'
Earlier this week, several Republican representatives also criticized the bill, saying they supported the limits the bill aimed to reimpose.
'All Mainers and their pets are at risk of a dirty needle stick,' said Rep. Ann Fredericks of Sanford.
Sanford became one of the few municipalities to bring back limits in an emergency municipal ordinance last year, which bill sponsor Mastraccio said during her testimony helped reduce syringe litter.
But according to the Maine CDC's syringe service report from 2023, released last May, most users bring in roughly the same amount of syringes they receive. Syringe services handed out 1.16 syringes for each one they collected last year, which means that despite some concern about the state's 100 to 1 ratio, meaning the additional needles from these programs are not driving street litter.
Syringe service programs also provide sharps disposal containers and help reduce discarded waste in communities, according to Dr. Kinna Thakarar, a physician at Maine Medical Center and an associate professor at the Tufts University School of Medicine.
Rep. Ambureen Rana (D-Bangor) said a rigid one-toone model doesn't match the reality of substance use and doesn't work.
'We have seen it in rural cities and towns alike. Public health policy must be grounded in science and best practices and lived realities of our communities,' she said. 'This bill is out of step with all three.'
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