SANTA CRUZ OKS NEEDLE DISPOSAL BOXES

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) -- The city has decided to install needle disposal
boxes in a dozen public restrooms to promote safety after several city
employees were pricked by dirty needles.

The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to install the padlocked steel
boxes at popular sites such as the beach and wharf areas. The syringes will
be picked up by workers from the Santa Cruz Needle Exchange and taken to the
county, where they will be sterilized and destroyed at a licensed facility.

``This means people understand it's a public health issue and nothing
more,'' said Heather Edney, executive director of the Needle Exchange.
``It's not about morality. It's not about whether people should or should
not use drugs.''

Santa Cruz is among only a handful of places nationwide that rely on
bathroom boxes to protect workers from getting pricked. Rhode Island has a
state program, several Nevada casinos use them and they are installed at
airports in San Francisco, Minneapolis and San Jose.

But some argue the needle boxes will send a bad message to visitors and
families.

``Would it make you comfortable to send your kid into a public bathroom at
the beach?'' said John Robinson, spokesman for the Seaside Co., which owns
the popular Santa Cruz Boardwalk. ``This is about making the city
comfortable for drug addicts, not about making a clean and healthy city.''

Supporters say the drop boxes will not only be used by addicts. Syringes
also are used for a variety of prescribed medications, including insulin for
diabetes. Some vitamins also are injected.

Syringes have been found stuffed in garbage cans and in toilets in Santa
Cruz. Seven city employees have been stuck by improperly disposed needles
since 1997, but the city said no infections occurred as a result.