CLEAN NEEDLES' BIG PAYOFF

When a junkie gets desperate for a fix, fear of a dirty needle tends to
evaporate along with the last remaining trace of responsible behavior. As a
result, potentially deadly viruses--particularly HIV and hepatitis
C--infect thousands of Californians yearly, costing lives and millions in
taxpayer dollars spent on hospitalizations and medications.

Some politicians say that providing clean needles would only encourage
criminal drug use and the multitude of ancillary ills that accompany it.
They are willing to write off those deaths and dollars as the price of
addiction. But that behavior too strikes us as irresponsible. So we're glad
a bare majority in the state Senate brushed aside that position and passed
a controversial bill by Sen. John Vasconcellos (D-Santa Clara) that would
let adults purchase and possess up to 30 sterile syringes a year without a
prescription.

SB 1785 now heads to the Assembly, where some conservative Democrats and
Republicans have vowed to oppose it. In an ideal world, simply prohibiting
everyone from abusing drugs would end drug abuse. The reckless spread of
disease would no longer be a problem. In reality as it now stands, however,
needles are relatively rare and valuable, so addicts share them and carry
them around in pockets, where they lie in wait for a paramedic or police
officer's probing hand. At least here in California.

In the 44 states where over-the-counter sales of syringes are legal, the
spread of HIV, hepatitis C and other infectious diseases has been markedly
reduced. That's why a number of medical groups, including the California
Medical Assn. and the California Nurses Assn., support the bill.

We're with them. As Vasconcellos says, his bill, far from encouraging
addiction, merely "recognizes that addicts are going to shoot up." That is
the sad fate of most junkies. But with help from responsible members of
society, death by infectious disease need not be.