The DEA plans to reinstate federal requirements that patients see a doctor in person before receiving prescriptions for Schedule III drugs. During the declared COVID-19 public health emergency, the DEA had waived the requirement, but with the Biden Administration announcing it will end the public health emergency May 11, the DEA plans to end the […]
HACHR
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Eureka Council to Consider HACHR Needle Exchange Plan
The Eureka City Council on Tuesday will consider an operations plan submitted by the Humboldt Area Center for Harm Reduction to run mobile syringe exchange programs at multiple locations, two of which city staff has determined to be unsuitable. The proposed locations, which the plan states are based on the county’s exchange sites, include a […]
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Eureka City Council Votes 3-2 to Suspend Syringe Exchange Services
A marathon special meeting of the Eureka City Council, stretching from 7 until 11:30 p.m., resulted in the council voting 3 to 2 in favor of a resolution temporarily prohibiting all syringe exchange services within city limits, with councilmembers Natalie Arroyo and Leslie Castellano dissenting. The wording of the resolution is tangled, stating that the […]
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State Re-certifies Needle Exchange Program, with Limitations
The Humboldt Area Center for Harm Reduction has been recertified by the state of California to provide needle exchange services in all of Humboldt County, with the excepting of the city of Eureka, where the nonprofit is based. The state’s decision to recertify the controversial program comes after the Eureka City Council sent a letter […]
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HACHR: City’s Claims Being Taken Seriously
The Humboldt Area Center for Harm Reduction says the organization is taking seriously allegations levied by Eureka officials in a memorandum to the state outlining “ongoing concerns” about its operations as the center’s syringe exchange program undergoes a reauthorization process. The California Department of Public Health authorized HACHR to run the harm reduction program for […]
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HACHR Denies Allegations as City Opposes Needle Program
The city of Eureka announced today it is opposing reauthorization of the Humboldt Area Center for Harm Reduction’s syringe exchange program due to “ongoing concerns” about operations at the nonprofit’s Third Street location. The California Department of Public Health authorized HACHR to run the harm reduction program for a two-year period in October of 2018 […]
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Eureka Council Moves Forward With H and I Street Changes, Cannabis Lounges
The Eureka City Council voted last night to move forward with reducing the number of lanes on H and I streets, establishing an advisory committee on needle exchange and directed staff to bring back a proposed ordinance for cannabis lounges. Council members selected the first of three options for creating traffic calming measures on two […]
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Eureka Weighs the Future of its Nonprofit Needle Exchange Program
It was the most pointed question in a meeting full of them. Eureka City Councilmember Kim Bergel looked at Humboldt Area Center for Harm Reduction Programs Coordinator Jessica Smith and board treasurer Rachel Waldman, leaned into the microphone and gave voice to a rumor — an allegation hurled on a social media platform without a […]
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Eureka Council Slated to Hear HACHR Report Tuesday
The Eureka City Council is scheduled Tuesday to hear a presentation from a local syringe exchange program at the center of a public backlash against the practice, which some view as responsible for the needle litter scourge now rampant across the city. The Humboldt Area Center for Harm Reduction, known as HACHR, also submitted a […]
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Eureka Council to Tackle Needle Regulation
The Eureka City Council is expected to vote on an ordinance Tuesday that may offer more oversight of syringe exchange programs within city limits. Syringe or needle exchange has become a hot button issue in recent months, with some residents blaming the harm reduction programs for large amounts of discarded needles on public property. (A […]
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Eureka Man Calls for Volunteer Action on Loose Needle Problem
“Stop thanking me,” says Brandon Krigbaum. The tall, bearded former wildland firefighter has been picking up and discarding loose needles in Eureka for a month and a half, and has gotten used to congratulatory messages on social media and his voicemail. At the Oct. 17 Eureka City Council meeting, Councilmember Kim Bergel lauded his volunteerism. […]
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City of Eureka Poised to Embrace Needle Exchange, Oust Panhandlers
Brandie Wilson, founder of Humboldt Area Center for Harm Reduction (HACHR), says her organization has saved at least a dozen lives in 2016, thanks to its distribution of Naloxone, an opiate overdose reversal drug. HACHR has been able to give Naloxone to drug users within Humboldt County, along with 2,000 clean needles. Now the Eureka […]