With overdose deaths at an all-time high, NC lawmakers must not end syringe programs

Staff
·3 min read

Welcome to NC Voices, where leaders, readers and experts from across North Carolina can speak on issues affecting our communities. Send submissions of 300 words or fewer to opinion@newsobserver.com.

Syringe programs

In 2016, a broad coalition came together to pass House Bill 972, bipartisan legislation to legalize syringe service programs in North Carolina, which was signed into law by then-Gov. Pat McCrory.

On the forefront of that effort were numerous sheriffs, chiefs of police, and public health leaders who understood that these programs support the brave men and women who keep our communities safe.

Earlier this year, Senate Bill 607 was introduced, which would make substantial changes to the operations of syringe service programs in North Carolina, at a time when overdose deaths in the state are at an all-time high.

Any singular provision in the bill would close numerous sites throughout the state. The bill in its entirety would effectively shut down programs that are stopping the spread of disease and ultimately saving lives.

Syringe service programs not only remove used syringes from the street, but properly dispose of them thus reducing risk to first responders. The programs also provide education to participants about access to a variety of treatment resources.

Research shows participants are five times more likely to seek treatment services when engaged in syringe service programs that meet them “where they are.” This critical linkage to care is of the utmost importance.

These programs benefit our broader public health and save the state money. Infectious diseases are incredibly expensive to treat or cure. Preventing even one person from becoming HIV positive or contracting Hepatitis C benefits that individual and our state’s economy.

Our current law is working. Syringe service programs don’t enable drug use, but recognize the complexity of the behavior and attempts to mitigate its harmful effects.

We implore N.C. lawmakers to reject this upcoming legislation, stay the course, and continue to support these programs for the safety of our law enforcement and broader public health.

Ronald Martin, Raleigh

Darrell Stephens, Bluffton, SC

Martin is a retired NYC Police Department narcotics division sergeant. Stephens was Charlotte police chief 1999-2008.

Handgun permits

In House Bill 398, North Carolina lawmakers propose to repeal our 1919 pistol purchase permit law, a vestige of the Jim Crow era which once facilitated denial of handguns to blacks under its vague “good moral character” requirement.

Only Maryland, Michigan and Nebraska still have similar laws.

The North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association, reversing its position, now supports repealing the archaic law. Its representative recently testified to legislators that implementation of requirements for courts to report mental health data to the National Instant Background Check System (NICS) within 48 hours, plus digitizing of older microfiche records, have rendered the system “duplicative.”

Repealing the law would mean computerized background checks are done via NICS at point of sale, not up to five years earlier as they are now.

Because purchase permits are valid for five years and untraceable once issued, they can be used by criminals to bypass NICS if people get permits before committing disqualifying crimes but use them afterward.

As gun buying surges nationwide, repeal would also remove an obstacle blocking handgun purchases in some counties for up to five months.

Critics complain that private transfers, which technically require purchase permits, would be exempt. But the fact that these slips of paper are untraceable and that many people are unaware of the requirement suggests that compliance is negligible.

A paper in UNC’s North Carolina Law Review finds that states without purchase permit laws actually have a 7% lower handgun homicide rate than states with the laws.

Missouri homicides, which spiked to 32% above the national average before it repealed its permit law, dropped to 17% above average after repeal.

Legislators should bring background checks into the 21st century and heed both law enforcement professionals supporting the bill and citizens being denied their rights by repealing the archaic law.

Paul Valone

President, Grass Roots North Carolina

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