Lowell Board of Health Invites City Councilors to Defend Needle Exchange Restrictions

LOWELL — October 1, 2025 — Lowell Board of Health votes to confront city council over syringe service ordinance that officials say would ban all needle exchange in the city. The board voted unanimously at its October 1 meeting to invite the three city councilors who sponsored a proposed ordinance — which would bar syringe service programs within 1,100 feet of any park or school — to the November Board of Health meeting to discuss the measure. The HHS director told the board that the restriction would confine such programs to two small residential areas, Belvidere and Pawtucketville, far from where clients are located. She presented data showing discarded needles at the South Common fell 75 percent, from 3,617 in all of 2024 to 709 through early September 2025, directly rebutting claims made at an August city council meeting. "There's no additional needles in the city because of it," one board member said. "There's just cleaner needles in the city because of it." The board also received a $31,800 fine report — 106 prohibited tobacco-related items at 300 dollars each — issued to a business at 446 Merrimack Street following a reinspection.