LEWISTON- The city’s syringe service program licensing ordinance received final approval from the City Council during their meeting on November 18th.
This follows a long, contentious process that has included numerous meetings and workshops. A bit of drama was sprinkled in with the city’s closure of controversial former needle provider The Church of Safe Injection during the summer for excessive code violations at their Main Street location.
The final vote was 5-2, with Councilors Susan Longchamps and Tim Gallant voting against.
Councilor Eryn Soule repeated concerns she has raised in the past related to the number of needles allowed to be dispensed, and how she feels that the ordinance has evolved to “protect the user” over those impacted by the needle waste.
“I do not support the amount of syringes that are allowed in this ordinance. I do support the restrictions for where they can operate and how many licenses,” she said. “So I will be voting ‘yes’ for those reasons.”
Longchamps said she was voting “no” because, “I have said from the beginning, I do think there should be some sort of cap.”
The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention sets a statewide cap at 100 needles per visit, and Councilors voted against setting a lower limit during their last meeting.
Councilor Joshua Nagine spoke about the “point of the ordinance” as being something that could help guide the city in the absence of state “protections.” He said that he supported relooking at the ordinance in six months in order to review how things are going.
During public comment, Lewiston Firefighter’s Association President Rick Cailler expressed concern that an unlimited needle exchange program would expose first responders to additional danger in already dangerous professions.
Council President David Chittim proposed amendments clarifying timelines and confidentiality requirements, which were approved unanimously by the council.
Gallant said he was “very proud of where we’ve come to,” noting that the ordinance wasn’t “perfect.” He stated further that he couldn’t support the current cap in the ordinance, and so would be voting against the final passage.
He and Longchamps were the only two who voted against the ordinance, which was up for its final passage.
Chittim praised fellow councilors and city staff for their efforts, noting that while some felt the ordinance wasn’t restrictive enough, others felt it went too far.
It is possible that the new City Council may look to change the ordinance when they’re sworn in this January, but it is unlikely. Any changes almost surely won’t occur until the planned six-month review.
Check out our coverage of the ordinance from previous articles:
Council Takes One Step Forward, Two Steps Back on Needle Decision