San Diego Union-Tribune Publishes Correction Regarding Information Contained in Editorial on Needle-Exchange Program

A San Diego Union-Tribune opinion piece published on July 29 stated incorrectly that the city's needle-exchange program continued to operate after the City Council voted not to renew the program, according to the... Union-Tribune (San Diego Union-Tribune, 8/10). In the opinion piece, the Union-Tribune reported that San Diego's needle-exchange program, which the City Council on July 18 failed to renew for the first time since it began four years ago, was operating illegally and "should be halted immediately." The editorial also said the government should provide drug treatment programs to help injection drug users stop their "deadly habit," rather than implementing the "misguided experiment" of dispensing clean needles (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 8/1). According to the Union-Tribune correction, the needle exchange was suspended directly after the council vote, but the program's mobile unit continues to operate in order to provide program participants with health education, counseling and referrals (San Diego Union-Tribune, 8/10).


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