GENERAL ASSEMBLY APPROVES NEEDLE EXCHANGE BILL

Bill Creates A Pilot Needle Exchange Program In Wilmington

DOVER -- A decade-long legislative effort to provide intravenous drug
users with access to clean needles and help reduce the spread of AIDS
passed the General Assembly late today.

The bill creates a pilot needle exchange program in Wilmington, where
the ravages of drug addiction and AIDS have decimated some black
neighborhoods. Senate Majority Leader Harris B. McDowell III,
D-Wilmington North, rallied with about 75 supporters of the bill
today on the steps of Legislative Hall earlier today, touting the
programs benefits.

Delaware was one of only two states that does not have a program that
allows drug users to swap used needles for sterile ones or to buy
syringes in pharmacies without a prescription. The other is New
Jersey, where Gov. Jon Corzine is trying to start a program.

The Senate passed the bill 16-4 last year but the initiative has been
bottled up in the House by powerful foes such as Majority Leader
Wayne Smith, a Brandywine Hundred Republican. Smith and other foes
said the program would condone illegal drug use.

Yet pressure by AIDS and drug outreach agencies, and the support of
House Speaker Terry Spence, R-Stratford, convinced fellow Republicans
who dominate the House, to put the bill on today's agenda.

The bill's chief sponsors, Wilmington Democrats Helene Keeley in the
House and Margaret Rose Henry in the Senate, predicted the measure
had enough support to pass the 41-member House. Gov. Ruth Ann Minner
has said she would sign the bill into law. The program would cost
$315,000 the first year for a specially equipped van, supplies and
salaries for social workers and counselors.

Keeley and Henry also credited a June 10 News Journal article about
the issue for raising awareness among lawmakers. The story
spotlighted a now-vacant Wilmington "shooting gallery" where addicts
used and discarded dirty needles and prostitutes had sex with customers.

"That opened people's eyes," Henry said. "I had so many people say
they didn't realize the extent of the problem until they saw the story."

HIV/AIDS infections from dirty needles is a major problem in
Delaware. Through 2004, 48 percent of the state's AIDS patients were
intravenous drug users or people who had sex with them - fourth
highest in the nation - according to the Kaiser Family Foundation,
which studies U.S. health issues. The national average is 31 percent.