Head of Recovery Organization Sees Need for Needle Exchange
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The executive director of a Sioux Falls-based recovery organization wonders if it might be time for the city to think about a needle exchange program, in which users can trade old needles for new ones without fear of prosecution.
Julie Schoolmeester, executive director of Face It Together Sioux Falls, tells the Argus Leader that intravenous drug use is more widespread than many might imagine. She says there have been more than a handful of incidental needle sightings recently.
Arrests in Sioux Falls for controlled substances including methamphetamine and heroin climbed from 496 in 2013 to 804 in 2015.
Attorney General Marty Jackley frequently cities a potential wave of opiate abuse in South Dakota and he pushed for legislation to allow first responders to carry and use an antidote.
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