The controversy over a needle exchange in Charleston is causing people with addiction to stop using it

The Kanawha-Charleston Health Department's needle exchange program has reduced disease and helped people with addiction find treatment.

But first responders and Charleston Mayor Danny Jones are upset at the proliferation of needles and people with addiction coming to their city.

On this Front Porch podcast, we debate how to protect first responders, the general public and the health of people with addiction -- all without increasing the stigma people with addiction already face.

Also, host Scott Finn will be trading the green, rolling hills of West Virginia for the mean streets of Vermont. Rick Wilson will give some tips on how to survive…the maple-tree jungle.

Welcome to “The Front Porch,” where we tackle the tough issues facing Appalachia the same way you talk with your friends on the porch.

Hosts include WVPB Executive Director and recovering reporter Scott Finn; economist Jessi Troyan of the free-market Cardinal Institute; and liberal columnist and avid goat herder Rick Wilson, who works for the American Friends Service Committee.

An edited version of “The Front Porch” airs Fridays at 4:50 p.m. on West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s radio network, and the full version is available at wvpublic.org and as a podcast as well.

Share your opinions with us about these issues, and let us know what you'd like us to discuss in the future. Send a tweet to @radiofinn or @wvpublicnews, or e-mail Scott at sfinn @ wvpublic.org

The Front Porch is underwritten by the Pulitzer Prize-winning Charleston Gazette-Mail. Find the latest news, traffic and weather on its CGM App. Download it in your app store, and check out its website: http://www.wvgazettemail.com/