The City of Boston handed out more than 4.5 million needles to drug users during the first four-year term of Mayor Michelle Wu, as part of her administration’s harm-reduction approach to tackling the Mass and Cass open-air drug market.

The Boston Public Health Commission disclosed its median syringe distribution per month for 2022 through Oct. 31, 2025, in response to a Herald public records request.

The data show that the city handed out 106,632 needles per month in 2022, which amounts to nearly 1.28 million in the first year of the Wu administration; 104,702 per month, or more than 1.25 million in 2023; 96,016 per month and more than 1.15 million in 2024, and 84,572 per month, or 845,720 so far this year, as Oct. 31.

The 2025 numbers put the city on pace to exceed the 1 million syring

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