A Portland activist dumped a bucket of dirty syringe needles and caps on the sidewalk outside of Outside In’s needle exchange facility last Thursday in a so-called “act of civil disobedience.”
Brandon Farley documented his crime on Twitter, posting a photo of himself with a bucket and the messages “Time for me to Clean Up the I-405 and Evict all the Homeless Druggies” and “Drug Debris Returned to their Place of Origin.”
Farley regularly uses Twitter to share photos of Portlanders who appear homeless, mentally ill, or have a substance use disorder. Usually the strangers are photographed asleep or unconscious from drug use. He often makes fun of his photo’s subjects, calling them “hobos,” “junkies,” or “bums.”
Farley, who claims to be “spreading awareness” with these videos, is parroting a message that’s been spread by conservative groups for decades: That syringe exchange programs add to a city’s addiction and homelessness problems.
Which means, in return, it’s time to spread some awareness on the essential role a needle exchange program plays in a community like Portland.
Outside In was one of the first organizations in the country to open a needle exchange—a program that offers sterile syringes to people with a substance addiction who might not have access to clean needles. Clients are encouraged to bring in their used syringes to safely dispose of.
This 30-year-old program is categorized by public health experts as a form of “harm reduction,” since using a sterile needle reduces the overall harm of drug use by protecting a person from contracting AIDS, Hepatitis B, or other blood borne diseases found in used syringes.
Aside from treating people like human beings who don’t deserve to die because of their illness, syringe exchange programs also offer rehab and recovery information to frequent clients. Ideally, a syringe exchange program is the first step in someone’s path to recovery.
Critics often argue that needle exchange programs incentivize drug use and crime. However, study after study have disproved these scary myths. Instead, studies show that needle exchange programs are associated with a drop in HIV infection and increased participation in drug treatment programs.
Despite this data—and the support of national medical organizations—it took the federal government until 2016 to allow needle exchange programs to apply for federal funds.
Farley isn’t the only Portlander to stoke fear around needle exchange programs. Last year, members of Portland’s Montavilla Initiative—a fringe neighborhood group—staked out a neighborhood syringe exchange program operated by Multnomah County and ridiculed its clientele on the group’s (now-shuttered) website.
Haven Wheelock, who runs Outside In’s needle exchange program, confirmed Farley’s syringe cap dump in an email to the Mercury.
“Our staff quickly cleaned them up and properly disposed of the used injection equipment,” she wrote. “We encourage the community to participate in safer disposal of syringes by bringing them to a syringe exchange in a secure container.”
Want to safely (and legally) clean up syringes? Check out Multnomah County’s detailed website on syringe drop-off locations and organized clean ups. Want to learn more about local syringe exchange programs? Multnomah County and Outside In have you covered
Unfortunately, while Mr. Farley hopes that his actions will be a threat to the syringe exchange program, the real threat is coming in the form of the proposed 2020 Multnomah County budget, which will reduce funding for harm reduction services, including reductions in syringe and naloxone distribution. As rates of drug related morbidity and mortality continue to rise throughout the state and the country, this is precisely the time to increase access to these life-saving interventions, not the time to dial them back.
Farley’s behavior is part of the global trend to remove compassion from public discourse. As society lurches to the right under the influence of a variety of demagogues, the only acceptable displays of compassion are those directed towards fertilized zygotes and powerful white men whose lives and careers might be damaged by accusations of sex abuse and harassment.
“Clients are encouraged to bring in their used syringes to safely dispose of.”
Encouraged? Really? It’s too much to ask that they be required to turn in a syringe to get a syringe? “Here, we are going to give you free paraphernalia for you to engage in your illegal activity, all we require is you find a dirty syringe and turn it in” – “That’s so unfair!!”
If Outside In can’t be a good neighbor and require a 1 for 1 exchange, then it’s time for the City and County to make their permits and funding contingent on enacting such a policy.
@3, the program is not intended as litter abatement. That’s not the “harm reduction” they’re working toward. Did you read the article?
Biohazards, not litter, it is actually illegal to deposit syringes in litter containers (see the Multnomah needle exchange site linked in the article). Outside In needs to start taking some little portion of accountability for dumping syringes into our community, regardless of their claimed motive. While i understand addicts by definition tend to make poor choices, the administrators of these programs are highly paid professionals who (should) know better.
I’m with The Mercury and some commenters here: I don’t care about no discarded syringes. In fact, I want MORE used syringes strewn about this city.
What about kids, you ask? Pshh! Drug addicts come first! It is they who we must cater to! If a punk kid steps on a used needle and gets some infection, it’s a small price to pay to continue this taxpayer-funded coddling of drug addicts.
More needles! More needles! More needles! Who’s with me??
In a society that increasingly devalues humanity, compassion, and scientific evidence syringe exchange is a bastion of all three. And it’s under threat, but not by idiots with cameras and no shame. The County has threatened budget cuts to these essential and life-saving programs. I hope at least these civic leaders can be persuaded by evidence, reason, and empathy (if not the harsh economic realities of opioid related morbidity and mortality) to adequately fund these crucial services.
I’m less interested in the concerns of junkies and their health than the health of children who should be able to run barefoot in our parks without worrying about getting the GRIDS. Everybody should be able to get on board with a 1 for 1 needle exchange (how did they even start getting called needle exchanges when addicts are not required to give a needle to get a needle?)
If this needle exchange is worrying about funding, maybe they can set up a program like Leipzig, put addicts to work picking up trash. Recycle bottles and cans. Buy their own naloxone.
@tony_bagala
Anyone who lets their children run around a park barefoot is literally being a negligent parent – besides needles, there’s dogshit, broken glass and all kinds of other things (ringworm and other parasites) that any parent would avoid…and seriously, I ride all over this town doing delivery and there aren’t needles all over the place as you act.
As for needle exchanges, I’d bet they collect more than they give out, and literally any needles they do collect are that many that don’t end up on the street as claimed so I’m just trying to grasp the logic of blaming the exchange program for taking tons of needles off the streets.
https://www.drugrehab.com/2017/11/06/pros-and-cons-of-needle-exchange-programs/
I’d like to see hard data about how much money society saves in, say, ER costs, vs. the cost of the needle program.
Of course getting dangerous medical waste off the ground is part of the package.. “encouraged”, pfft. Hell, make the trade two used for one new.
Publicity stunt with a flavor of civil disobedience (with or without quotation marks) got some attention to the situation, right?