LAWMAKER TO INTRODUCE BILL LEGALIZING NEEDLE POSSESSION

TRENTON - A state law barring possession of hypodermic syringes without a
prescription could be overturned under a proposal put forth by a local
lawmaker and aimed at curbing AIDS.

State Assemblyman Reed Gusciora, D-Princeton Borough, said yesterday he
plans to introduce a bill in the next several weeks that would legalize
needle possession.

The measure would allow New Jersey residents to buy needles over the
counter at pharmacies and would also permit social service agencies to
distribute clean needles to drug users.

Gusciora said the program is aimed at controlling the outbreak of AIDS, as
more than half of the state's 42,000 AIDS cases were caused by addicts
sharing needles.

"Unless we deal with the intravenous drug problem in this state, we are not
going to combat AIDS any further," Gusciora said. Right now, it is illegal
to possess hypodermic syringes without a prescription.

Gusciora announced his intentions yesterday during a conference call
sponsored by the Drug Policy Alliance, which opened an office in Trenton
last year.

Roseanne Scotti, director of the alliance's New Jersey Drug Policy Project,
said New Jersey is one of only six states that require a prescription to
buy a hypodermic needle.

But New Jersey lawmakers have historically balked at needle-exchange
programs. Some critics say the government should not foster drug use by
providing needles while others say it sets a bad example for children.
Gusciora has another bill to establish a needle-exchange program funded by
the state now pending in the legislature. But he said the program hasn't
received much bipartisan support.

"Republicans and Democrats are concerned about sending the message we
somehow are supporting drug use," Gusciora said. "That is an error, but
sometimes perception is the rule."

Gusciora and his fellow sponsor, Assemblyman Alfred Steele, D-Paterson,
said they hope this measure will be viewed more favorably since it is
essentially self-funding.

"It's a matter of saving lives," Steele said. States that support
needle-exchange programs often distribute information about drug
rehabilitation along with the needles while social service agencies
advocate getting off drugs when they go out into the community to
distribute needles, Scotti said. Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the
alliance, said he is optimistic minor reforms to the state's drug policy
could happen in the near future.

"It may be the case that New Jersey's drug policy has resulted in more
death and suffering than drug use itself," Nadelmann said. Gov. James E.
McGreevey has voiced support for a limited needle exchange program in the past.