Atlantic City Council is expected to vote Wednesday night on a proposed lawsuit settlement with the South Jersey AIDS Alliance over the city’s 2021 attempt to close a needle-exchange program. According to the Press of Atlantic City, in 2021, council voted to close the alliance’s needle exchange site, saying it attracted too many intravenous drug abusers to the city and to the Tourism District. The alliance sued, and a judge ordered the city to let the center stay open until the lawsuit was heard.
In January 2022, Gov. Phil Murphy signed a law taking the power to open or close needle exchange sites out of municipal hands.The new law gave the state Department of Health the power to site needle exchange programs, effectively ending council’s attempt to close the center.