Take Back Santa Cruz

Grand Jury Finds Lack of Transparency – Syringe Exchange Program

For years, Take Back Santa Cruz’s Needles Solutions Team and the public have demanded greater transparency from the County’s Syringe Services Program (“SSP”), which distributes syringes to drug users.  After completing an investigation into the practices of the SSP, the Santa Cruz County Grand Jury just issued a report which validates the public’s concerns.  Indeed, the Grand Jury concluded that the SSP leadership “creates an atmosphere of poor communication and a lack of transparency.” 

Specifically, the Grand Jury found that:

The Grand Jury also recognized that “the community is at risk with syringes found in public and private spaces throughout the county.”  The SSP is not able to refer enough SSP to counseling, treatment and support programs.  Additionally, the County also does not adequately engage in syringe clean-up efforts.

The Grand Jury’s recommendations include:

The Grand Jury (which is comprised of volunteers from the community) obviously devoted a lot of time and effort into investigating this issue on behalf of the public.  We are deeply grateful for their undertaking.  Thank you.

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