NEWARK, OH--Billy McCall is a recovering drug user. The 35-year-old Newark man struggled with addition for most of his life, and admits to injecting drugs for a decade.

• A handful of counties across the state are addressing drug abuse in their communities by setting up needle exchange programs to allow users access to sterile needles. 
• The CDC says such programs can significantly cut the public’s risk of diseases like HIV and Hepatitis.
• Licking County’s Board of Health voted in secret last month to ban the program, but Newark residents aren’t giving up the fight. 

McCall has been clean for almost a year, and is now a member of Harm Reduction Ohio—a statewide group that works to reduce the dangers associated with drug use and advocates for policies that support that.

“Obviously what we've been doing for so long with the war on drugs is not working, in fact, its cultivating addiction. So we have to start looking at other pieces to the puzzle here. There's no one fix to the opioid crisis or the drug problem in America, but there's a lot of different pieces to the puzzle that we can implement,” says McCall. 

In February the Licking County Board of Health became the first in Ohio to ban needle exchanges, with a closed-door, unanimous 8-0 vote. 

Harm Reduction Ohio argues board members never made any public comments afterward. 

In a previous email statement  March 7^th, the board says it  considered the benefits and risks as well as the moral and ethical implications of establishing a syringe exchange program since 2018, but decided they were not in support of establishing the program at this time.

“Totally blindsided because I had thought it was supported and generally acknowledged to be something that would be good for our community,” says Newark resident, Steven Smith. 

The CDC and Ohio Department of Health both support syringe programs, saying they reduce HIV, Hepatitis and overdose deaths. 

The Newark Advocate reports Licking County Hepatitis C cases have tripled over the last decade.

“The Ohio Department of Health is saying we need more. CDC says we need more. The legislature wants more, but its under local control, so we don't want this precedent to start,” says Harm Reduction Ohio President Dennis Cauchon. 

Physicians, community leaders held a silent protest Tuesday night outside the Licking County Health Department.

About a dozen speakers then had the chance to make comments at the Board of Health Meeting.

“Anytime that someone takes the time and opens their mind and educates themselves on this issue. It's really a no-brainer,” says McCall.

“They're finding their needles on the streets and re-using them. What are we going to do about this? We have the power, you have the power to change that,” says Newark resident Patricia Perry. 

“I look at needle programs as an intake, harm reduction, cost reduction, but also an intake to give hope to the people, so I hope you consider it,” says Dr. Robert Masone. 

The board listened for half an hour, but again, did not comment afterward. Only issuing a statement later via email:  

“The Board of Health appreciated the public coming to tonight’s meeting to address the board and expressing their views during the public comment portion. We are proud of the fact that the health department is committed to disease prevention by providing free Hepatitis A vaccines to at-risk populations, expanding their HIV and hepatitis testing programs in the clinic, offering free naloxone kits through their website, and educating the public about the dangers of opioid abuse – among many other programs.”

Harm Reduction Ohio members claim a 12-week treatment for Hepatitis C virus infection could cost upwards of $95,000. 

The CDC says drug users are five times more likely to enter drug addition treatment if they use syringe program.

For recovering addicts like McCall, he says needle exchange programs help prevent other complications and costs.

“I've had abscess that almost took my life here, I've been hospitalized for endocarditis, and a small thing like a 12-cent syringe could have prevented a lot of that. Even just basic syringe access,” says McCall. 

“We're spending tens of millions in the state government to eliminate stigma, you hear it all the time. And now a board of health is actually valuing stigma over science, so its important for us not to let that happen,” says Cauchon. 

For more information on Harm Reduction Ohio, follow the link.