North Dakota’s first syringe exchange program tackles trust issues

Among the hard-to-measure longterm costs associated with the nation’s opioid epidemic — the future health care costs of former abusers who’ve contracted a disease through sharing needles. And while controversial, needle exchange programs have been shown to reduce the spread of infection, thereby lowering future healthcare costs and demands. North Dakota’s first program is getting off the ground, and the early challenge is establishing trust with addicts.