Enrolled pharmacists are embracing the DPDP as a way to reach out to their colleagues and the community. “I’ve used this program as an opportunity to educate our physicians, staff and medical students about the important role of harm reduction.” stated Clinica Romero pharmacist Terry Hair. Drug Policy Alliance Southern California is particularly proud of our work with other local organizations to maximize the success of the project. DPDP program manager Meghan Ralston said, “All of our successes are a direct result of so many people helping to make this program a reality in Los Angeles.”  

We’ve worked with the City of Los Angeles to help bring free sharps containers and improved sharps disposal options to our DPDP pharmacies, benefiting thousands of citizens who need them. We’ve worked with the USC School of Pharmacy to help educate dozens of pharmacists and healthcare professionals about the importance of access to sterile syringes in our communities. We’ve worked with the Office of AIDS Programs and Policy to ensure that all County HIV testing counselors are educated about the DPDP. We’ve worked closely with groups ranging from the Hepatitis C Task Force of Los Angeles County to the Los Angeles Overdose Prevention Task Force. 

In addition to working closely with community groups, we have also been working with community pharmacists who support this important program. Yasmin Rahmani, a pharmacist at Eddie’s, the beloved West Hollywood community pharmacy, says, “It’s nice to be doing something helpful for the community, giving them information that could potentially save their lives. That’s what this program allows us to do.” Prominent Beverly Hills pharmacist, Ari Levan of Millart Pharmacy, says “I would recommend enrolling in the DPDP to all of my colleagues. As pharmacists, I feel that it’s essential that we take a more pro-active role in preventing deadly diseases such as AIDS and hepatitis C.” Dozens of organizations and hundreds of people have helped to make this important program so successful in Los Angeles.

Before the DPDP, people who needed syringes without a prescription were forced to either share or in many cases, travel great distances to visit a syringe exchange. The DPDP changed all of that for thousands of people. Now international travelers visiting Los Angeles without their prescriptions from their home countries can obtain sterile syringes easily and at very low cost. Home healthcare workers can now ensure that their elderly or immobile clients never run out of the syringes they need to take their medication. Transgendered individuals who need sterile syringes for hormones and drug users who would have otherwise shared syringes are now able to make the healthier choice to use clean syringes when they need them.

From Calabasas to Whittier, Long Beach to Compton, Santa Monica to Silverlake and everywhere in between, the Disease Prevention Demonstration Project is meeting the needs of Angelenos and making our communities safer and healthier. Thank you, Los Angeles, for making this program such a fantastic success!