NO HARMFUL SIDE EFFECTS IF NEEDLES BECOME LEGAL

Gov. W. Mitt Romney will likely veto a bill that allows needles to be
sold in Massachusetts pharmacies without a prescription.

"Legalizing needles is like giving matches to an arsonist," said Eric
Fehrnstrom, the governor's spokesman.

We heard something like that in Springfield and Holyoke when public
health officials attempted, without success, to establish needle
exchange programs. Opponents said needle exchange would encourage
drug use, send the wrong message to young people and undermine
efforts by law-enforcement agencies to halt illegal drug traffic.

Here's their mistake: They see illegal drug use as a crime statistic
rather than a public health crisis.

We applaud the state Senate for its 26-8 vote to allow needles to be
sold without a prescription at pharmacies in Massachusetts. The House
voted 115-37 to approve the bill in November. The bill was approved
by enough votes in both branches to override a veto, but Senate
Minority Leader Brian P. Lees, R-East Longmeadow, thinks he can
sustain the veto in the Senate. The bill's supporters should not take
the override for granted.

For opponents, needles represent illegal drug use and crime. They are
politicians, not public health officials. Massachusetts can save
lives, slow the spread of infections and save millions of dollars in
health-care costs by making clean needles available without a prescription.

Massachusetts is one of only three states that bans the sale of
needles without a prescription. Needles are legal in the other 47
states. There have been no problems with discarded needles in
playgrounds; no reports that those states have made it easier for
drug users to engage in illegal behavior; no evidence that those
states have jeopardized the safety of families and no statistics to
show that those states have seen an increase in criminal activity.

Access to clean needles reduces the transmission of blood-borne
diseases. It's been 25 years since AIDS was first identified.
Massachusetts is behind the rest of the nation.

It is disappointing Springfield and Holyoke rejected needle-exchange
centers because it has been such a success in neighboring Northampton.

This bill is no substitute, but it is a beginning.