More than 30 activists from Fresno, the Bay Area and Stanislaus County converged outside the downtown Modesto courthouse Monday to protest criminal charges against two people accused of handing out clean syringes and collecting dirty ones from drug addicts in a Modesto park.
Kristy Tribuzio, 36, and Brian Robinson, 37, face up to a year in jail for breaking a law they consider to be immoral.
People held signs reading “Public Health Over Politics” and chanted in favor of dropping the charges. They excoriated local elected officials, pointing to a decision by the county Board of Supervisors in September 2008 to nix legalizing needle exchange over the recommendations of health officials.
“It should be a health issue, not a political issue,” said Dallas Blanchard, 45, whose needle exchange program in Fresno was approved just over a year ago.
“By treating it as a political issue, we’re just allowing people to die,” he added. [via]
-
veneravmehah reblogged this from anthropophagous and added:
Because communicable diseases such...HIV and hepatitis are no big deal.
-
wooliebear liked this
-
how-to-kiss-distinctly-american reblogged this from anthropophagous
-
how-to-kiss-distinctly-american liked this
-
anthropophagous posted this
