NJ ADOPTS NEEDLE EXCHANGE

New Jersey, where an estimated 14 percent of new HIV cases are
attributable to shared needles by injecting drug users, has finally
adopted a needle-exchange program. On December 11, the Senate voted
23-16 and the Assembly 49-27 to approve the measure. Democratic
Governor Jon Corzine has pledged to sign the bill, calling the
science on the issue "clear."

New Jersey had been the only state "that does not allow injection
drug users access to clean needles through community-based
needle-exchange programs or with a prescription," the Kaiser Network
reported. The programs will be established in six cities and allocate
an additional $10 million to drug treatment.