Pueblo City Council votes to ban syringe exchange programs

Pueblo’s City Council voted Monday to discontinue free syringe exchanges that have been in place for a decade. The decision comes on the heels of other U.S. cities reconsidering similar programs meant to slow the spread of communicable diseases amongst intravenous drug users. 

Council members’ 5-2 vote on a new ordinance that bans the practice in the city. The majority argued the exchanges had littered the city’s public spaces with unreturned used needles, while the two minority…