Harrison Thorp Noon
Wednesday, March 25, 2026 11:55 am
|
ROCHESTER - Last year the0 Rochester nonprofit that ran the city's Syringe Service Program revealed in a quarterly report that while some 98,000 clean syringes were given out, only about 78,000 were returned, according to SOS Recovery figures.
That factor may have figured into a decision by the city's codes and ordinances committee on Monday to change the previous practice of up to a 1-10 syringe exchange to a 1-1 exchange basis.
City Councilor Les Horne, who serves on the codes panel, said he'd spoken to some who use the exchange program who said they often take multiple clean syringes they get for free and go down to Dover to sell them.
During public comment Ashleigh Desrocher, a volunteer for the New Hampshire Harm Reduction Coalition, advocated for a 10-1 needle exchange.
"'Giving one to one and no extra is lethal," Desrocher said.
Kerry Nolte, an associate professor at the UNH School of Nursing, said if a drug user exchanges 1, they should get from 10-20 clean syringes.
Rochester Mayor Chuck Grassie, who attended Monday's meeting, agreed with Horne that the 1-1 exchange is necessary due to suspected reselling of clean syringes outside of Rochester.
Grassie added that he expects the ordinance to include the use of fixed sites, popup sites and mobile services to handle needle exchanges.
He expects the codes panel to do any tweaking necessary prior to a vote at its next meeting on April 2.
The ordinance will then move on to a public hearing prior to a full vote by the City Council.
The most recent data of drug overdoses in Rochester comes from 2023 when the city saw 209.