Needles, pipes and doubling down

North Dakota’s largest city — long the pride of the state in many ways — continues to reveal an ugly side which threatens that status and troubles many of its own residents. This week, it demonstrated reluctance to halt even one of its most disturbing, and perhaps abused, practices.

For years, Fargo has grappled with problems which many large cities are forced to confront: a growing homeless population, drug abuse and increasing crime. It has forced the city to attempt to clean up homeless encampments, remove downtown benches (which critics claimed had often become landing spots for drug addicts and the homeless) and move the “Downtown Engagement Center” to another location, while also changing its name. 

Questions about how the city leaders are dealing with such issues and the policies implemented to do so are increasing and many are not happy with the answers. 

The most recent example began with a question from a Fargo police officer to one of the city commissioners — were its public health staff distributing pipes to drug users? The answer, Commissioner Michelle Turnberg learned, was yes. It shocked and angered her so that she made the news public and insisted that the issue be addressed at Monday’s City Commission meeting.

The resulting theater observers were subjected to was not only disappointing, it became frustrating to many.

Apparently, Fargo Cass Public Health staff had, indeed, been distributing what are commonly called “meth pipes” or “crack pipes” to drug users in the city for some time — roughly 5,000 of them according to testimony at the meeting. After Turnberg made the issue known, public outrage, coupled with questionable compliance with state law, prompted them to halt the distribution, at least pending Commission action and legal clarity. State law reportedly allows the exchange of some drug paraphernalia but it many not allow for the distribution of such pipes.

The distribution in Fargo was part of a needle exchange program, established under the auspices of helping users of illegal drugs by ensuring that the needles they use to continue their addiction were new and clean, rather than dirty and shared which supposedly increases the potential spread of diseases such as hepatitis and HIV.

Euphemisms on Display

Testimony from Fargo Cass Public Health staff revealed that many of the needles were actually distributed rather than “exchanged” as the program’s title implies. The addition of pipes to the equation seemed not only to raise concern, but also to prompt questioning of the wisdom of the needle exchange program, in the first place.

The program’s title, “Harm Reduction,” was also scrutinized, prompting suggestions from some commissioners and members of the public, alike, that it may cause more harm than it reduces.

“giving misguided support to someone with addiction…enabling”

Fargo resident Doug Sharbono

The city was accused by one citizen voicing opposition during the meeting’s public comment time of “giving misguided support to someone with addiction” and, thus, actually “enabling” continued addiction. 

Visible discomfort among some commissioners was palpable as the issue came forward and citizens chastised the city for allowing such practices to occur.

The only apparent responses ranged from Mayor Tim Mahoney rapping the gavel to cut off such public comments when time allotted for each speaker expired to chastising both commissioners and members of the public for allegedly disparaging staff while expressing their criticism and frustration. 

Doubling down

Despite the concern and outrage expressed during the meeting the Commission’s vote on Turnburg’s motion to scrap the program failed on a 3-2 vote, with Commissioner Dave Piepkorn joining Turnberg in supporting ending the program, but Commissioners John Strand and Denise Kolpack and Mayor Tim Mahoney voting “no”.

Is censorship next?

As an understated footnote at the meeting’s close, Mahoney announced, in matter-of-fact fashion, that public comments during future City Commission meetings would no longer be carried on the Commission’s public broadcast of its meetings.

The change means that, while the public can take advantage of modern technology to view Commission meetings online (as they’ve long been able to do) in order to hear what their fellow citizens have to say during the already restricted “public comment” time, they’ll be forced to physically attend the meetings, in person.

Jack McDonald, the long-time lobbyist for North Dakota’s electronic and print news media and advocate for free speech and freedom of the press, has already gone on record opposing the change.