USA. CEQA lawsuits are blocking needle exchange programs. A new law will stop that
USA. CEQA lawsuits are blocking needle exchange programs. A new law will stop that
SANTA CRUZ — For more than 30 years, public health officials and nonprofits in California have provided clean hypodermic needles to people who use them to inject drugs.
For nearly that entire time, opponents have accused the free needle programs of promoting drug use and homelessness.
But recently, opponents have deployed a novel strategy to shut them down: using environmental regulations to sue over needle waste. They argue that contaminated needles pollute parks and waterways — and their lawsuits have succeeded across the state. (Los Angeles Times, USA, 06.10.2021)
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-10-06/ceqa-lawsuits-are-blocking-needle-exchange-programs-a-new-law-will-stop-that