Federal Way mayor wants to know where ‘proliferation of needles’ is coming from

Federal Way Mayor Jim Farrell says he is working on ways to cut down on the thousands of used drug needles currently littering the city.

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Farrell told KTTH’s Jason Rantz Show this week that he suspects many of the needles were given out in Federal Way by a King County needle exchange program, which he says the city does not have the legal authority to stop.

“When COVID started and the new CDC guidelines went into effect, they started just throwing more needles at this,” he said. “And that’s actually where we see this proliferation of needles.”

The mayor believes the program is handing out too many needles and not collecting very many used ones in exchange.

“One person in particular scheduled an appointment and got 100 needles handed to them. It was just outrageous,” he said.

A citizen activist named Grace previously contacted KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson Show claiming that she was able to go to a van in a parking lot in Federal Way where there was an exchange program, and witnessed teenagers as young as 16 get needles. She also claims she was given a box of 100 without having to exchange any.

Federal Way mayor: King County doing needle exchange without city’s consent

Farrell says he’s now leading a team to determine exactly where the needles are coming from, with the hopes of convincing the supplier to change its handout policy, or at least be able to hold them accountable for cleaning up the used ones.

“Can we create a nexus and prove that these needles in the woods are their needles that they handed out?” he asked, adding, “We’d have to prove a connection between this program and what’s in the woods, and we’re working on that.”

“We’re going back out there with those volunteers and those activists, and we’re doing everything we can do address it,” he added.

Listen to the Jason Rantz Show weekday afternoons from 3 – 6 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (or HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here.