El Dorado County cannot enforce its ban on programs that hand out clean syringes as a legal battle continues between the county and the California Department of Public Health, a Superior Court judge has ruled. Judge Gary S. Slossberg granted a preliminary injunction to prevent El Dorado County from enforcing an ordinance that makes it unlawful to operate syringe programs in its unincorporated areas.
Vern Pierson called it 'madness' and argued that California officials were 'seeking to impose the normalization of hardcore drug use.' In a cross-complaint filed against the Department of Public Health, the county said that the syringe program approved by the state had caused 'profound nuisance and public safety impacts,' including a 'drastic increase in discarded needles,' and that overdoses had risen since it started.