Can Providing Addicts With Needles Help Curb The Opioid Crisis and the Costly Epidemic to Follow? – WKSU

By Tim Rudell

The Mahoning Valley has been one of the hardest hit areas in the state by the ongoing opioid crisis. As local officials continue to struggle to find ways to reduce the number of fatal overdoses, one program being tried in other parts of Northeast Ohio may provide some relief. As part of the media collaboration, Your Voice Mahoning Valley, we look at whether needle exchanges could provide a solution to the problem of opioid addiction.

County and municipality needle exchanges — six are operating in Ohio — allow addicts to get clean syringes free of charge and free from potential arrest. Summit County has had one of the programs since last year. Health Commissioner Donna Skoda says it is helping to stop the spread of disease and that will help get addicts into treatment and on a path back to health.