Syringe City: Boston hands out 4.5 million needles to drug users during Mayor Wu’s tenure

The City of Boston handed out more than million needles to drug users during the first four-year term of Mayor Michelle Wu as part of her administration s harm-reduction approach to tackling the Mass and Cass open-air drug area The Boston Citizens Fitness Commission disclosed its median syringe distribution per month for through Oct in response to a Herald residents records request The figures show that the city handed out needles per month in which amounts to nearly million in the first year of the Wu administration per month or more than million in per month and more than million in and per month or so far this year as Oct The numbers put the city on pace to exceed the million syringe distribution mark again this year at more than million per city evidence While the numbers are down from the first three years of the Wu administration they are higher than what Boston Residents Wellbeing Commissioner Bisola Ojikutu communicated to the Boston City Council in early September At the time Ojikutu stated the city distributes needles on average per month to drug users The Constituents Fitness Commission in its records response declined to provide figures for how much the city is spending on distributing needles to drug users each year but announced that it collects more syringes through various programs than it distributes Regarding yearly distribution costs BPHC does not receive city appropriated funds for the purpose of syringe distribution BPHC Assistant General Counsel Javier Salas wrote The funds that we use come from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and therefore we do not have any responsive records However a look at the city budget and a past Boston Populace Medical Commission request for proposals and quote for harm reduction supplies sheds light on what the city spends each year on needle distribution The Commission s budget line for jeopardy reduction and overdose prevention was approved at just north of million for this fiscal year FY The BPHC sent out a request for proposals for harm reduction supplies in May that noted the annual expenditure on supplies is approximately in the range of million Since fiscal year the City of Boston has received millions of dollars from the state for its harm reduction medicine and recovery efforts as part of an opioid settlement with pharmaceutical companies The city will receive at least million through which includes more than million from FY through the current fiscal year according to a spreadsheet on the state website BPHC s request for proposals included other items beyond needles in the category of harm reduction supplies handed out by the city among them condoms and dental dams for safer sex tourniquets cotton pellets saline and personal hygiene items The Constituents Robustness Commission while including an extensive list of harm reduction supplies in its request for proposals took issue with the Herald s request for information on how multiple crack pipes and other drug paraphernalia it distributes Rather than provide the information as part of its records response the Residents Vitality Commission belittled the Herald s chosen language BPHC objects to the use of the terms crack pipes and other drug paraphernalia Salas wrote Smoking pipes is an overdose prevention strategy that makes it less likely for people to overdose compared to injections Pipes are also better for populace safety because they do not pose a biohazard peril to the society if discarded improperly To the extent you are requesting pipe distribution information BPHC does not have reliable details to account accurate figures which are only available in limited numbers Salas wrote adding that he was rejecting the request for other drug paraphernalia due to it being vague and broad The newly-released needle details comes at a time when residents in neighborhoods taxed by the open-air drug use dealing and related crime that s spilled over from the troubled intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard are begging for a police crackdown and contemplating moving out of safety concerns Residents particularly in the South End have complained about the physical condition and safety threat discarded needles pose to their children at parks and playgrounds and to their dogs out for walks with them around the neighborhood A -year-old boy had to undergo HIV testing this past summer after stepping on a discarded needle at a South Boston park A man spoke at a South End population safety meeting last month of having to Narcan his dog who was overdosing from a discarded needle with drug residue and advised others to carry the lifesaving overdose drug when walking their own pets in the neighborhood a hot-spot area for spillover from Mass and Cass Ojikutu defended the city s harm reduction approach at a City Council meeting in early September as key to fending off HIV and other diseases that are commonly spread through shared needles used for drug injection If you consider the number of times someone is using fentanyl it s to injections per day Ojikutu reported We are trying to decrease the jeopardy of HIV exposure Related Articles Battenfeld Sketchy K scheme to raise revenue could be latest Boston boondoggle Collins Rehabilitation first best strategy for Mass and Cass South End resident sues city Boston Police for skirting community records law hiding Mass and Cass crime facts Wu official indicates Boston is moving away from harm reduction strategy amid Mass and Cass surge Boston city councilor pushes for crisis hearing on Mass and Cass spillover needle spikes She commented the city s Society Healthcare Commission has identified a cluster of HIV cases in the Boston region Largest part of the more than HIV cases in the region are connected to Mass and Cass drug injection Ojikutu mentioned adding that the number would be higher without the city s harm reduction approach Ojikutu mentioned at the time that the city s monthly needle distribution has decreased by this year compared to last year although she acknowledged that the numbers of needles distributed each month is really higher than disclosed by the city when also accounting for its partner organizations Kellie Young director of the city s coordinated response organization indicated last month that the city may be moving away from its harm reduction approach and will have recommendations for the mayor by January Boston has handed out more than million needles during Mayor Michelle Wu's first term so far as of Oct