Lowell Syringe Program Fight Moves to City Council Subcommittee After Ordinance Fails

LOWELL — December 3, 2025 — Lowell's syringe service program fight moves to a city council subcommittee after a restrictive ordinance failed. The Board of Health met December 3 and reviewed maps showing that a proposed 1,000-foot buffer from both schools and parks would effectively eliminate all viable syringe service sites in the city, leaving only impractical locations near the Dracut state forest or a corner of the Belvidere neighborhood. The board's chair said she appeared before the full council the previous Tuesday to argue against elimination, and the council referred the matter to its public safety subcommittee, expected to meet in January with state Department of Public Health representatives. Lowell General Hospital emergency services director Jacqueline Allard reported the city has gone two full years without requiring outside mutual aid ambulances and that scene-time compliance stands at 91 percent. The board also voted 3-0 to approve the nomination of Jiren Kilsdunk as inspector of animals, and was told tuberculosis cases in Lowell have nearly doubled over the past year, with 13 active patients currently under monitoring.