In response to an Oakland City Council’s opposition to a much needed drug treatment center to be run by Casa Segura, the Drug Policy Alliance is threatening the City Council with a lawsuit for ignoring California’s open meeting laws in their efforts to block the East Oakland facility. The lawsuit is in response to the City Council’s attempt to undermine a new drug treatment center without adhering to California’s Brown Act and Oakland’s Sunshine Ordinance. According to law, issues of public interest discussed by the City Council must be publicly noticed 10 days prior to a scheduled meeting so that stakeholders can weigh in on the decision making process. The only exemption is in the case of narrowly defined emergencies.

The Oakland City Council is ignoring the HIV epidemic and instead citing Casa Segura’s commendable efforts to stop the spread of HIV as an emergency in and of itself. Ironically, many jurisdictions throughout the nation have used emergency criteria to open needle exchanges that would otherwise be illegal. Casa Segura does operate needle exchanges in other locales, but has assured the City Council they will not run a needle exchange out of the East Oakland drug treatment facility.

The Oakland City Council’s politicized opposition to sensible harm reduction is unfortunate. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 58% of AIDS cases among women are linked to injection drug use or sex with partners who inject drugs. Overall, 36% of AIDS cases in the United States can be traced back to intravenous drug use. This easily preventable public health crisis is a direct result of zero tolerance policies that restrict access to clean syringes.

To learn more please visit: www.cdc.gov/hiv/pubs/facts/idu.htm