Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1999. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The San Francisco Chronicle - Thursday, December 16, 1999
With Tuesday's vote, the county joined the cities of Oakland and Berkeley and Contra Costa County in taking advantage of a new state law, effective January 1, to decriminalize needle exchange programs.
The county's public health department will ask supervisors next month to approve $314,500 to expand services now provided by the nonprofit HIV Education and Prevention Project of Alameda County. In addition to needle exchanges, the organization offers educational programs and provides services such as HIV testing.
Chris Catchpool, the group's executive director, said the emergency declaration means his group no longer will have to operate ``underground'' as an illegal organization, as it has for seven years. He said the organization exchanges 17,000 new syringes weekly for used ones at three Oakland sites, at an annual cost of $95,000 for new needles and disposal of used ones.
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