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Boyd County Fiscal Court Approves Needle Exchange Program
By: Associated Press
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CATLETTSBURG, Ky. (AP) – The Boyd County Fiscal Court has passed a resolution to approve a needle exchange program for one year.
The Independent reports that the fiscal court passed the resolution Tuesday, but some commissioners expressed concerns about funding.
The program will be paid for by special taxing districts, and some worried it could become too costly to operate.
Ashland-Boyd County Health Department Public Health Director Maria Hardy and epidemiologist Kristy Bolen presented the program to the court as a way to address local cases of hepatitis C.
Commissioner John Greer, who was the sole member to vote against the program, says he is afraid the program could encourage drug abuse.
Commissioner Tom Jackson argued that protecting the public from hepatitis C and HIV overrides the concerns of drug abuse.