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Needle Exchange Heads To The Governor

Todd Huffman via Flickr

There’s just one hurdle left for a Miami-Dade needle exchange program.  The long-awaited pilot passed the House Wednesday.

Rep. Katie Edwards (D-Sunrise) gained passage for a Miami-Dade needle exchange Wednesday.  South Florida lawmakers have spent years pushing for it.  Edwards believes the measure will reduce addiction, and she quotes a familiar line.

“It’s an old Neil Young song,” Edwards says.  “I’ve seen the needle and the damage done, a little part of it in every one. But members not every junkie has to be a setting sun.”

“With the right treatment advocacy outreach and effort we can rewrite that song.”

Some GOP lawmakers critical of the proposal worry it won’t reduce addiction.  But Rep. Julio Gonzalez (R-Venice) says that’s not the point.

“Now I’m not voting up on this bill because I believe that it will somehow fix the problem of drug addiction,” Gonzalez says.  “I agree—it probably will not.”

“I’m voting up on this bill because the problem we’re trying to address is the spread of blood borne infectious diseases,” he goes on.  “That’s the problem we’re trying to address.

The measure already passed the senate.  Now it’s on its way to the governor’s desk. 

Nick Evans came to Tallahassee to pursue a masters in communications at Florida State University. He graduated in 2014, but not before picking up an internship at WFSU. While he worked on his degree Nick moved from intern, to part-timer, to full-time reporter. Before moving to Tallahassee, Nick lived in and around the San Francisco Bay Area for 15 years. He listens to far too many podcasts and is a die-hard 49ers football fan. When Nick’s not at work he likes to cook, play music and read.