The San Diego City Council heard details but did not vote this week on the city’s Clean Syringe Exchange Program.

Councilmembers at the Jan. 15 meeting did not vote on the program because they heard only an informational report for 2007 on the controversial program.

“This report was the first annual report since the program restarted last January,” said Monica Palaez, a representative from Councilmember Toni Atkins’ office. “The report is not a determining factor of whether or not the program [will] continue. It was simply a report of the status of the program.”

City Council will again review the program in July.

In 2007, drug addicts exchanged 127,136 dirty needles for 106,368 clean syringes via the program, which provides two recreational vehicles in North Park and East Village. Addicts can exchange dirty needles for two clean syringes and a hygiene kit.

The mobile units are open for three hours at a time. The downtown site is open on Thursday evenings, and the North Park site accepts syringes on Friday mornings.

Councilmember Brian Maienschein, who opposes the program, asked city staff if they could somehow mark the clean needles that are given away as having come from the program. A staff member said that could be looked at, but doubted any type of stamp or mark could be put on a thin syringe.

Maienschein said he would want to know if dirty needles found on playgrounds or elsewhere could have come from the program.

Those who favor the program say it cuts down on accidental needle sticks that occur to police officers searching suspects, firefighters and paramedics who respond to 911 calls, and to city workers or others who handle trash or look for recyclable plastic bottles or cans.

The Council first passed the Clean Syringe Exchange Program in 2001 as an emergency program to cut down the spread of hepatitis C and HIV that can be transmitted by dirty needles tainted with blood from someone who has the disease. The GLBT community in general has supported the program. Mayor Jerry Sanders also is in favor of it.

One participant at the meeting asked Council President Scott Peters if the program could add other sites. Peters said it would have to be properly noticed and so could not be added immediately. Peters said the City Council would have to vote on a site in another councilmember’s district.

Several speakers complained about the North Park site, saying the once-a-week program contributes to crimes in the area. San Diego Police officials did compile crime records in North Park, but they could not find one particular arrest or case that was directly linked to the exchange program.

Dr. James Dunford, the program’s chair, said the program has “not been shown to ever increase drug use.” He told the Council the program’s purpose is to “educate drug users.”

“The real purpose is to try to educate people into recovery (programs),” said Dunford.

Dunford said 90 percent of the addicts who turned in dirty needles received referrals to various agencies and programs for substance abuse treatment, detoxification services, mental health, or primary care in general, since the program provides each addict with some type of interview with health workers.

James Hartline, a self-described “ex-gay” and former drug user who says God has healed him, told the Council the program was responsible for a rise in violent crime and robberies in North Park.

“The citizens of North Park have this program thrust upon them,” said Hartline, who is a candidate for the District 3 election in 2008.

Hartline said he helped a woman clean up her son’s apartment and claimed he recovered more than 200 dirty needles directly from the program. He didn’t say how he knew the syringes were from the program.

Hartline said the city cares more about drug addicts than the average person.

Councilmember Toni Atkins said Hartline “is irresponsible” to claim the program is linked to violent crime. “I support this program. We need to focus on the least negative impact,” she said.

Also speaking in favor of the program was Stephen Whitburn, a candidate for the District 3 seat. He said he was pleased the program “had taken more than 550,000 syringes off the street.”

The report says 550,058 dirty needles have been received since the program’s start, and 453,607 clean syringes have been distributed. Records show that 15,814 total visits by new and repeat clients have occurred since 2001. It says 13,873 visits were from repeat drug users.

There were also 13,673 referrals provided to drug users since it began, and 4,427 since mid 2006 to 2007, according to the report. This comes to nine out of 10 clients who received referral information.

After enrollment, clients were described as less likely to reuse a syringe, throw it away in the trash, or obtain needles from questionable sources, the report says.

No city funding is used for the program, as it is provided by the Alliance Healthcare Foundation. The Family Health Centers operates the program.

One homeowner told the Council the program was discretely “cloaked” so residents wouldn’t know about it. Other North Park residents said the program decreased property values.

“Everybody doesn’t want this to be in a residential area,” said one participant.

One of the program’s early success stories concerned a mother whose son was a drug addict and died from AIDS. He left approximately 3,000 dirty needles in the home, where she also lived. The woman didn’t know how to safely dispose of them until she heard about the program and used it.