WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) - A new study shows law enforcement agencies in North Carolina want to decriminalize what some consider to be drug paraphernalia.
Many drug busts, arrests and investigations include charges for drug paraphernalia like pipes.
But what about syringes?
The recent study says officers would be safer if the needles were decriminalized, because people would not try to hide them.
Detective Kevin Smith with the Wilmington Police Department says legal or not, syringes can be deadly.
He added that needles are a bit of a gray area already -- where pipes are instantly considered illegal, syringes do serve a medical purpose for some people.
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