State approves volunteer Santa Cruz syringe-exchange group
(WorldNews Environment)

SANTA CRUZ — A volunteer-run harm reduction group recently pre-approved for a $405,000 state health grant has been certified as an authorized syringe services program. With state clearance of the group’s application, approved last week by the California Department of Public Health after a nearly nine-month wait, the Harm Reduction Coalition of Santa Cruz County will be able to offer its services directly to the public, rather than act as a secondary exchange through the Santa Cruz County Syringe Services Program. The authorization primarily provides the coalition with access to a supply clearinghouse that the state’s other 56 syringe services programs use. “This is...