DC operates needle exchange programs through DOH-funded providers since Congress lifted the funding ban in 2007, with HIPS, Family Medical and Counseling, and others offering free syringes and sharps containers.
From 1998 to 2007 a Congressional appropriations rider blocked DC from spending local funds on needle exchange. After the rider's removal in 2007, DOH established city-funded harm-reduction programs. Today, organizations like HIPS, Family Medical and Counseling Services, and Bread for the City distribute clean syringes, naloxone, and sharps containers under DC Code 7-403. Used syringes can be returned to exchange sites, dropped at participating pharmacies, or placed in DOH-issued sharps containers and brought to DPW disposal events. Loose syringes in household trash violate DC Code 8-1051.
Discarding syringes in regular trash, on streets, or in recyclables violates DC Code 8-1051 and may trigger fines up to $500 plus liability for any sanitation worker injury.
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