By Associated Press - Wednesday, April 3, 2019

AUBURN, Maine (AP) - Police have threatened to arrest the founder of a Maine group called the Church of Safe Injection for distributing sterile needles during a needle exchange.

The Sun Journal reports Auburn Police told Jesse Harvey he would face a misdemeanor charge if he exchanged needles without proper certification at the event held Tuesday at First Universality Church.

Harvey responded in an email saying the group was “called on by a higher authority to do the work that we do.”

No one attended the event, which had a police presence on site.

Harvey says his program is protected under a legal gray area that allows for “secondary exchange” needle programs under state law.

Harvey says he doesn’t blame police for doing their jobs. He says “syringes should not be criminalized.”

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Information from: Sun-Journal, http://www.sunjournal.com

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