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| Version 5 | Version 6 |
|---|---|
| Syringe machine idea turned down | Syringe machine idea turned down |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Plans to install a needle vending machine by a police station have been rejected by councillors. | Plans to install a needle vending machine by a police station have been rejected by councillors. |
| North Wales Police had wanted to place the £10,000 machine in Colwyn Bay so it could have been used by registered drug addicts issued with tokens. | North Wales Police had wanted to place the £10,000 machine in Colwyn Bay so it could have been used by registered drug addicts issued with tokens. |
| But several Conwy councillors said the siting was inappropriate in a sensitive town centre area, and any such machine would have needed to be supervised. | But several Conwy councillors said the siting was inappropriate in a sensitive town centre area, and any such machine would have needed to be supervised. |
| They did, however, vote in support of the principle of a needle exchange. | They did, however, vote in support of the principle of a needle exchange. |
| One councillor, Darren Millar, said it was not a vote against the principle of a machine, but only to having one at that site. | |
| A final decision is due to be made at a planning meeting which will probably be held in October. | |
| Before the meeting a drug treatment charity in the town called for the idea to be scrapped, and also argued that any such scheme should be supervised. | Before the meeting a drug treatment charity in the town called for the idea to be scrapped, and also argued that any such scheme should be supervised. |
| A needle vending machine is not the answer because it removes the human contact that the addict needs Danie Strydom, Touchstones12 | A needle vending machine is not the answer because it removes the human contact that the addict needs Danie Strydom, Touchstones12 |
| Touchstones12 had also put an advert in a local newspaper to condemn the scheme. | Touchstones12 had also put an advert in a local newspaper to condemn the scheme. |
| North Wales Police chief constable Richard Brunstrom had said the scheme would help drug addicts by ensuring drug users did not need to share dirty needles. | North Wales Police chief constable Richard Brunstrom had said the scheme would help drug addicts by ensuring drug users did not need to share dirty needles. |
| The Conwy meeting was a joint one involving members of two community committees. | The Conwy meeting was a joint one involving members of two community committees. |
| Later this year a planning application for the machine will have to be determined by the council, which owns the police station, a listed building. | Later this year a planning application for the machine will have to be determined by the council, which owns the police station, a listed building. |
| Councillors were told that a leading chemist in Colwyn Bay had agreed to become involved in the needle exchange. | Councillors were told that a leading chemist in Colwyn Bay had agreed to become involved in the needle exchange. |
| Pharmacies and hospitals in many areas of north Wales already hand out clean needles, but the service does not exist in the Colwyn Bay area. | Pharmacies and hospitals in many areas of north Wales already hand out clean needles, but the service does not exist in the Colwyn Bay area. |
| if the syring machine idea had gone ahead, addicts would have used tokens provided by rehabilitation agencies in the area. | if the syring machine idea had gone ahead, addicts would have used tokens provided by rehabilitation agencies in the area. |
| The vending machine needed planning approval by Conwy County Council and would have become the first of its kind in Britain. | The vending machine needed planning approval by Conwy County Council and would have become the first of its kind in Britain. |
| CCTV camera | |
| The National Public Health Service for Wales said the lack of a needle exchange was a "barrier" to controlling rates of infection of HIV among drug users. | The National Public Health Service for Wales said the lack of a needle exchange was a "barrier" to controlling rates of infection of HIV among drug users. |
| The machine would be sited outside the town's police station | The machine would be sited outside the town's police station |
| In a report, it said: "Pharmacies and vending machines increase the availability and probably the utilisation of sterile injecting equipment by injecting drug users." | In a report, it said: "Pharmacies and vending machines increase the availability and probably the utilisation of sterile injecting equipment by injecting drug users." |
| But Danie Strydom, director of Touchstones12, a charity which helps recovering addicts and promotes an abstinence policy, said before the meeting that the scheme would not provide the face-to-face contact needed when dealing with addicts. | But Danie Strydom, director of Touchstones12, a charity which helps recovering addicts and promotes an abstinence policy, said before the meeting that the scheme would not provide the face-to-face contact needed when dealing with addicts. |
| He said: "There would be a bin placed under a CCTV camera which would require the addict themselves to place there old needles in the bin. It's never going to happen." | He said: "There would be a bin placed under a CCTV camera which would require the addict themselves to place there old needles in the bin. It's never going to happen." |
| "A needle vending machine is not the answer because it removes the human contact that the addict needs." | "A needle vending machine is not the answer because it removes the human contact that the addict needs." |
| But Cais, another organisation which helps people with drugs and alcohol problems, was in favour of the scheme. | But Cais, another organisation which helps people with drugs and alcohol problems, was in favour of the scheme. |
| Business director Chris Dukes said: "Anything that is put into the community that alleviates this harm has to be a good thing. | Business director Chris Dukes said: "Anything that is put into the community that alleviates this harm has to be a good thing. |
| "We would all very much welcome the human face in being able to exchange needles, but that's not the situation in Colwyn Bay." | "We would all very much welcome the human face in being able to exchange needles, but that's not the situation in Colwyn Bay." |