A nonprofit group is negotiating to take over the Madison County program, which was stopped last summer.

Government funding was cut off this summer when the County Council voted to prohibit county funds or donations from supporting the program.

One of the first Indiana counties to implement a syringe exchange is now the first in the state to effectively shut its program down.

Madison County public health coordinator Stephanie Grimes says the number of intravenous drug users taking part in the county's needle-exchange has doubled each month since October.

The needle-exchange program will start next Wednesday and rotate between four sites in hopes of reducing the spread of hepatitis C among IV drug users.