Sacramento Municipal Code Ch. 9.10 Needle and Syringe Sale and Exchange Programs

The council of the City of Sacramento finds and declares the following:

A. Pursuant to authorization by a city or county, Business and Professions Code Section 4145 allows a pharmacist to furnish or sell ten (10) or fewer hypodermic needles or syringes to a person for human use, provided the pharmacist works for a pharmacy registered for the Disease Prevention Demonstration Project and provided the pharmacy complies with the provisions of Health and Safety Code Section 121285.

B. The Sacramento County department of health and human services, with the support of pharmacies in the community, is able to administer the Disease Prevention Demonstration Project within the physical boundaries of the city of Sacramento.

C. Pursuant to Charter amendments, in 1956-1957, the city and county health departments merged and in 1957 the city and county of Sacramento entered into an agreement implementing the merger. The agreement appoints the county health officer as the health officer of the city, effective February 1, 1957 and transfers all functions of the city health department (with limited inapplicable exceptions) to the county health department. (Ord. 2006-048)

Within the physical boundaries of the city, there is established a Local Disease Prevention Project satisfying the requirements for such a program as set forth in Section 121285 of the Health and Safety Code. The county of Sacramento health department serving as health officer for the city of Sacramento shall be responsible for the following:

A. Creating and maintaining a registry of pharmacies located within the city of Sacramento desiring to participate in the Local Disease Prevention Demonstration Project. The registry will include:

1. Contact name and related information for each pharmacy;

2. Certification in the form of an attestation by an individual authorized to sign on behalf of each pharmacy that at the time of the furnishing or sale of hypodermic needles or syringes pursuant to this provision, the pharmacy will provide customers with written or oral information on all the following:

a. How to access drug treatment,

b. How to access testing and treatment for HIV and hepatitis C, and

c. How to safely dispose of sharps waste.

B. Making available to the pharmacies, written information on:

1. How to access drug treatment;

2. How to access testing and treatment for HIV and hepatitis C; and

3. How to safely dispose of "sharps waste," so that such information may be provided or reproduced to be provided by the pharmacy at the time of furnishing or sale of nonprescription hypodermic needles or syringes. (For purposes of this chapter, "sharps waste" means hypodermic needles, syringes and lancets.) (Ord. 2006-048)

In order to furnish or sell nonprescription hypodermic needles or syringes as part of the Disease Prevention Demonstration Project within the city of Sacramento, a pharmacy shall do all of the following:

A. Register with the county of Sacramento health department by providing a contact name and related information.

B. Certify in the form of an attestation that it will provide, at the time of furnishing or sale of hypodermic needles pursuant to this provision, written information or verbal counseling on all of the following:

• 1. How to access drug treatment;
• 2. How to access testing and treatment for HIV and hepatitis C; and
• 3. How to safely dispose of "sharps waste."

C. Store hypodermic needles and syringes so that they are available only to authorized personnel, and not openly available to customers.

D. Provide one or more of the following options to provide for the safe disposal of hypodermic needles and syringes:

1. An on-site safe hypodermic needle and syringe collection and disposal program;

2. Furnish or make available for purchase, mail-back sharps disposal containers authorized by the United States Postal Service that meet applicable state and federal requirements, and provide tracking forms to verify destruction at a certified disposal facility; or

3. Furnish or make available for purchase, personal sharps disposal containers that meet state and federal standards for disposal of medical waste. (Ord. 2006-048)

This provision will expire on December 31, 2010 unless extended pursuant to state law and authorized by the city of Sacramento. (Ord. 2006-048)

A. Pursuant to California Health and Safety Code Sections 121349 through 121349.3, in consultation with the State Department of Health Services and as part of a network of comprehensive services to combat the spread of HIV and blood-borne hepatitis infection among injection drug users, the city council authorizes a clean needle and exchange program.

B. The county of Sacramento health officer, as health officer for the city of Sacramento, shall administer the program.

C. The city manager and designee are authorized to enter any agreements for operation of the program.

D. A provider interested in administering a clean needle and syringe exchange program in the city shall notify the county health officer before beginning the program and shall comply with any program rules and regulations established by the county health officer for administration of the program. A provider shall also report to the health officer, on a quarterly basis, statistics that include but need not be limited to the number of needles exchanged, the number of referrals made for other services, and the number of law enforcement incidents related to the project.

E. Within one year of the effective date of the ordinance enacting this section, and annually thereafter, the city council shall hold a meeting at which the county of Sacramento health officer, as the health officer for the city of Sacramento, shall present a report detailing the status of the project, including but not limited to, relevant statistics on blood-borne infections associated with needle sharing activity. (Ord. 2007-006 § 2)