The Sanford City Council is meeting tonight to consider an emergency ordinance to limit the number of hypodermic needles to be made available by service programs.

According to a copy of the proposed ordinance, a large number of used needles have been found in public, leading to what the ordinance described as a “public health crisis.”

The ordinance indicated a licensed syringe service program from the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention is leading to needles being found in “public parks, playgrounds, sidewalks, storm drains, trails, and private properties” throughout the city.

The ordinance, if passed, will limit the program to a strict 1:1 exchange rate, cutting down on the number of syringes the program distributes in Sanford. 

According to its website, Maine CDC has a number of syringe exchange programs throughout the state, designed to help curb the spread of HIV and Hepatitis C through collecting used needles in exchange for clean ones.