At request of 72 clergy, Health Chief says ties with syringe exchange will end

MANSFIELD — Pastors have been on pins and needles after the local health department donated leftover needles to an Ohio syringe exchange program. However, last week the Health Commissioner put their concerns to rest.

Health Commissioner Stan Saalman responded to a clergy letter sent by seventy-two Richland County clergy expressing their concern over the health department’s delivery of two hundred needles to the Portsmouth area. The syringes were leftover from a supply of needles from the H1N1 flu vaccination program and sent last February.

“There is not much of a chance that the Health District (Richland County) would contemplate a donation or needle exchange program in the near future.” said Health Commissioner Stan Saalman in a response letter to Reverend El Akuchie, one of the clergy letter’s cosigners. “I do not expect this (needle exchange program) to happen.”

The group of clergy stated in the letter they believed it was morally wrong to donate needles to a syringe exchange program because it contributed to the mortality of addicted persons, sanctioned destructive behaviors, and was one step towards condoning substance abuse.

“According to a local study, it is believed there are at least 47,000 to 48,000 people who attend a Bible-believing church each weekend in Richland County,” said Reverend Akuchie, one of the clergy co-signers. “As allied pastors of these congregations, we believe government exists because the GOD of the Bible has appointed it.  And that appointed government is established with the mandate to reward good behavior and to punish evil behavior. Giving free needles to addicts rewards bad behavior.”

In the correspondence, the area ministers cited a review conducted by the New Jersey Family Policy Council of hundreds of reports on syringe exchange programs finding very few programs with credible measures for effectiveness in preventing HIV transmission among injection drug users.

“A good tree cannot bear bad fruit,” Akuchie adds. “Participating in a ‘necessary evil’ by handing out drug paraphernalia to reduce bloodborne pathogens will not yield good results. Reports suggesting otherwise are not peer-reviewed and data unreliable.”

Since no public health emergency was declared, the clergy even pointed out the health department could possibly be subject to the Ohio Revised Code Chapter 2925.14 (C) (2) for dealing drug paraphernalia, a second degree misdemeanor.

The clergy letter concluded that “Biblical faith can be injected into everyday life” and recommended faith-based drug treatment centers like Teen Challenge as a reliable alternative to needle exchanges.

The Bottom Line:

The Bible says in Matthew 7, “Every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.”