Orange County’s Only Needle Exchange May Get Second Life As A Mobile Operation
The group, if the state approves, would hand out syringes and other harm-reduction supplies out of a van in Santa Ana, Anaheim, Orange and Costa Mesa.
Los Angeles Times:
Orange County's Needle Exchange Awaits State Approval For Mobile Service
After Santa Ana city officials shut down Orange County's only needle exchange months ago, the program may return as a mobile service in Santa Ana, Anaheim, Orange and Costa Mesa. The move — pending state approval — would widen the influence of the Orange County Needle Exchange Program, which formerly operated out of the Santa Ana Civic Center until city officials denied the group's permit application in mid-January, citing an increased number of discarded syringes in the area. (Brazil, 4/19)
In other public health news —
San Francisco Chronicle:
State Can Label Widely Used Herbicide As Possible Carcinogen
A state appeals court on Thursday backed California’s listing of the widely used herbicide glyphosate as a possible cause of cancer and the state’s prohibition against discharging it into public waterways. ...Citing new findings by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, state health officials added glyphosate to their list of potential carcinogens in July 2017 under Proposition 65, a 1986 initiative that requires warnings of exposure to products that pose a risk of cancer or reproductive harm. (Egelko, 4/19)
The San Diego Union-Tribune:
Mounting Toll Of Alzheimer's In Lives, Dollars In San Diego Spelled Out In Reports
More than 84,000 people in San Diego County are living with Alzheimer’s and related dementias, a figure that will reach 115,000 by 2030, according to two reports released by the county Friday. The lifetime cost of care for San Diegans with these dementias now exceeds $38 billion and is expected to surpass $52 billion by 2030. The reports update a 2015 report on an ambitious county program to cope with the rising toll of dementia. One report focuses on the prevalence of these diseases. The other examines the cost. (Fikes, 4/20)