LONGVIEW — Cowlitz County health officials in western Washington state have released a needle exchange plan intended to reduce the spread of diseases caused by the shared use of needles by drug users.
The Daily News reports in a story on Saturday that the plan meets some conditions set by county commissioners but not others due to legal issues.
The plan follows a June 27 vote by county commissioners to suspend the syringe exchange program within 90 days unless the Health and Human Services department met five conditions within 30 days.
Commissioner Arne Mortensen says he’ll reject the new plan. He says the Sept. 1 start for the changes isn’t soon enough.
He also says a lack of information about results from the program makes it difficult to know if anything substantial is being accomplished.
