Leon County Commission Approves Syringe Exchange Program with Big Bend Cares

Leon County Commission Approves Syringe Exchange Program with Big Bend Cares

On December 13th, the Leon County Commission approved an agreement with Big Bend Cares, Inc. to serve as the operator of a new syringe exchange program (SEP). The SEP is governed by Florida law, which was amended in 2019 to permit a county commission to authorize an SEP within county boundaries.  

According to the staff agenda, the goal of the program is to prevent the spread of disease. The SEP will provide free exchange of clean needles and hypodermic syringes for used needles and hypodermic syringes with the purpose of preventing HIV, AIDS, viral hepatitis and other diseases that can be commonly spread by injection drug users.

In addition to providing clean needles, an SEP must also provide educational materials, onsite counselling or referrals for drug abuse prevention, education, treatment and kits that contain an emergency opioid antagonist (Naloxone) for the use of a complete/partial reverse of an opioid overdose or give a referral to a program that can provide these kits.

Big Bend Cares, Inc. plans to organize services for the SEP through a mobile health unit which will also serve to provide health care services in high poverty neighborhoods. These neighborhoods include, Frenchtown, Bond, Griffin Heights, and South City. These services will be provided around three times a week. Big Bend Cares will operate the SEP on the remaining days when the mobile health unit is not being used as an access for health care service.  

Florida law prohibits the use of state, local or city funds to operate an SEP. For this reason, Big Bend Cares will utilize private funding sources to operate the mobile unit.

The program will begin in the summer of 2023.

15 Responses to "Leon County Commission Approves Syringe Exchange Program with Big Bend Cares"

  1. Our government not only endorsing drug use, but aiding and abetting it as well.

    … but remember… it’s whitie and LEOs fault

    WAKE THE HELL UP AMERICA!

  2. Recall! County, city, mayor… citizens can utilize this to give consequences for bad decisions.

    “Give Them Enough Rope and they’ll hang themselves”…Bed Bath & Beyond, BLM, Amazon, Zuckerberg, Bye Done, Merrick Garland, Hunter, Boot-edge-edge, Mayorkas… charges, resignations, investigations, indictments are imminent.

    Tallahassee where the inmates run the asylum and the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce; and the developers’ money run City Hall. What a mess of corruption..

    Mark Hinson in the TD… a good read!

  3. Duh, perhaps the reason people are so poor in these areas is they spend their $$ on drugs. Or they are unfortunate family and friends that have to deal with this. What is the clear message we are sending?

    So now we help them continue. I’m sure they don’t feed their habits by stealing and burglarizing and robbing any and everything. I’m also sure they don’t help the continued employment of all these local gangs and dealers who shoot Tally to pieces lately either. Well on our way to Pottersville.

  4. I can’t smoke a stogie outside the courthouse… while the county hands out clean rigs to community reprobates so they can boot fentanyl?

    This isn’t Leon county, it’s Bizarro world.

  5. Keep in mind that these are some of the same commissioners that got voted back into office to continue their “dirty deeds.” A dirty deed indeed.

    The only way we’ll ever have a chance to eliminate this kind of nonsense is to vote the “old guard” commissioners (P and the M&Ms) out of office. Don’t hold your breath waiting for that to happen.

  6. Let’s consider this a step further. There can be little argument that an unopened bottle sitting on a shelf has sterile contents while one that’s been opened, handled, drunk from, wiped, etc. is a germ factory.

    I’ve got a 2/3 empty Jack Daniels bottle sitting at home that is clearly germ infested and would like to swap it for a new, full bottle.

    But I know that those same commissioners won’t agree to that because, well, I’m A Skeptic!

  7. Why stop at free needles and syringes? Why not supply the drugs as well? Not only would the government supplied drugs be high quality but there would be no need to prostitute oneself or rob others for money to buy drugs. Also consider providing rooms in TMH in which the users can shoot up and be close to medical professionals and not have to pass out in Tal Tran shelters or entrances to vacant buildings. Our local leaders are just not sufficiently progressive or they would have thought this through.

  8. Free needles compliments of the taxpayer…we are trailing behind San Fransico but catching up. It will not be long before we need a map to avoid all the dukie on the street.

  9. It baffles the mind that Frenchtown, Bond, Griffin Heights, and South City are the high poverty neighborhoods, so much so that, many if not most, receive major Government Assistants, Housing, Food Stamps, Utilities, Cell Phone, Internet, etc BUT, they always seem to have enough money for their Drug Habits and not only is the Government supplying them with the instruments to maintain their Drug Habit they are NOW going to take those Instruments TO THEM. WOW.

  10. Well our Commission, by approving this progam, just cancelled their reservations to check into Heaven after a life well lived. Enableing the poor and disabled amoung us to rot their brains and ruin their bodies to estrange themselves from their kids and loved ones to die an early miserable death after ruining their finances all by providing free addict enableing devices is a mortal sin.
    Talk this over with your Pastor if he’s still letting you defile the sanctuary by setting your cloven hoof inside the door of the church. Elected Commission members there is still time to turn before you burn. Again talk to your Preacher about what you and the Devil have brought on like a pox to the most vulnerable in our community. Shame on you.

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