A Superior Court judge has ruled that El Dorado County cannot enforce a ban on a program that distributes clean syringes as a legal battle between the county and the California Department of Public Health continues.
Judge Gary S. Slossberg issued a preliminary injunction preventing El Dorado County from enforcing an ordinance that makes it illegal to operate syringe programs in its unincorporated areas.
The judge said he was not weighing the heated arguments for or against a syringe program that provides drug users with sterile needles, but rather whether the Department of Public Health had a “reasonable likelihood” of prevailing in its argument that the county ordinance Conflicts with state law.
Friday’s decision does not end a court dispute over whether the ban passed by the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors is preempted by state law, as public health officials say, nor does it end county officials’ claims that the syringe program was improperly approved without state approval. . Slosberg said Friday that the preliminary injunction will remain in effect pending a later trial.
The Department of Public Health filed a lawsuit this year against El Dorado County and its county seat, Placerville, claiming their ban on syringe programs violated state health and safety regulations.
The state health department first authorized the nonprofit Mountain Harm Reduction Coalition to conduct a syringe program in the county four years ago. State officials have long endorsed such programs as a proven way to prevent the spread of HIV and hepatitis C when people share contaminated syringes.
California law gives public health agencies the power, “notwithstanding any other law,” to authorize syringe programs wherever there is a risk of deadly or disabling infection being spread through used needles.
Still, local bans on syringe programs have sprung up across California, with city and county officials arguing that free syringes are doing more harm than good. El Dorado County leaders passed the rule in December, followed by Placerville enacting a similar ordinance in February.
A lawsuit filed by the California Department of Public Health drew opposition from El Dorado County leaders: Earlier this year, Dist. Atty. Vern Pierson called it “insane” and argued that California officials “are seeking to normalize forced drug use.”
In a cross-complaint against the Department of Public Health, the county said the state-sanctioned syringe program has caused “serious nuisance and public safety impacts,” including a “dramatic increase in discarded needles” and an increase in overdoses since Since it started.
The county said in a legal filing that since the ban went into effect, “syringe waste has decreased, public nuisance incidents have decreased, and enforcement burdens have been reduced.”
It also accuses the public health department of failing to comply with state requirements when approving the syringe program.
The judge did not weigh a cross-complaint filed by El Dorado County during Friday’s hearing. California officials said in a court filing that research shows the syringe program provides a critical resource for needle disposal and plays a vital role in preventing overdoses. They praised the Sierra Harm Reduction Coalition for distributing thousands of boxes of Naloxone, the brand name of Naloxone, a drug that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.
The Department of Public Health argued in a legal filing that halting the syringe program could increase HIV and hepatitis C infection rates among drug users, increasing the cost of their care to the state; and lead to more overdose deaths. ; and reduce syringe disposal options and other harmful effects.
As a result of these bans, “our most vulnerable, stigmatized and marginalized community members are being denied life-saving interventions,” Shiloh Jama, interim executive director of the Sierra Leone Disaster Reduction Alliance, said in a court filing.
Slosberg said that while he is blocking enforcement of the El Dorado County ordinance, the county may have other mechanisms to address nuisance issues not addressed by the decision.
“We will be proposing to narrow the scope of the ordinance,” District Attorney Pierson said in a statement in response to the judge’s comments.
Friday’s ruling only applies to ordinances passed in El Dorado County. Mona Ebrahimi, an attorney representing the city of Placerville, said the hearing involving the city has been postponed.
