Corazón San Antonio hands out roughly half a million clean needles in exchange for used ones in a typical year, plus Narcan for drug overdoses, condoms and other items to prevent the spread of disease.

Corazón runs the only permissible and organized needle exchange program in Texas , made possible by a legal carve out that allows the practice in Bexar County alone.

There are other groups that operate in Texas, but they do so illegally.

The philosophy behind needle exchange is known as harm reduction, strategies aimed at reducing the negative health consequences associated with drug use and sex, but not requiring abstinence.

President Donald Trump issued an executive order in late July targeting this practice, instructing his administration to redirect federal funds away from organizat

See Full Page