A Refresher on North Carolina's Needle Exchange Law and Other Harm Reduction Immunities

In response to the opioid crisis, North Carolina passed several protections designed to alleviate some of the legal liability surrounding drug use in the interest of harm reduction and public health. One of those protections authorized needle exchange programs (alternatively known as safe syringes programs). G.S. 90-113.27. A recent study examined how the needle exchange program is working in seven North Carolina counties and found that the law was not consistently applied. Brandon Morrison et al., “They Don’t Go by the Law Around Here”: Law Enforcement Interactions After the Legalization of Syringe Services Programs in North Carolina, vol. 19, Harm Reduction Journal, 106 (Sept. 27, 2022). Considering the study’s findings, I thought a refresher on the immunity provisions for syringe exchanges and similar protections would be timely. Read on for the details. The Needle Exchange Law. The legislature first authorized needle exchange programs in 2016. Under the law, an organization wishing to engage in this kind of program must dispense unused syringes and other injection supplies, dispose of used needles, provide educational material on drug treatment and safe drug use practices, and provide access to the overdose treatment drug Naloxone. They also must provide mental health and drug treatment consultations upon request. Before beginning such a program, the organization must register with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (“DHHS”) and thereafter report annually to DHHS concerning the extent of their services. Participants in the program are provided written verification (usually in the form of a card) documenting that [...]