NEEDLE EXCHANGE SMOOTH IN ATLANTIC CITY

Atlantic City quietly began its first legal needle-exchange program
Tuesday, becoming the first city in New Jersey to take part in a
pilot program aimed at reducing the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

The first day of Atlantic City's needle-exchange program saw 20
people register and turn in used needles for clean ones at the Oasis
Drop-In Center on South Tennessee Avenue, according to Roseanne
Scotti, director of Drug Policy Alliance New Jersey, an organization
that lobbied for years for needle-exchange programs in New Jersey.

The Oasis center, operated by the South Jersey Aids Alliance, already
provides free HIV counseling and testing, drug-treatment referrals
and other social services. A methadone clinic is located across the street.

Those who registered Tuesday and Wednesday were given 10 clean
needles plus one additional clean needle for every used needle they
turned in. To register, participants answered basic demographic
questions and questions about their history of HIV testing and drug
treatment. They also were assigned an identification number, and
after six months will be asked other questions, such as whether they
are still sharing needles with others and whether they have sought
drug addiction treatment.

"It was very smooth," Scotti said after witnessing the first day of
needle exchange in Atlantic City. "There were no problems. There
never are. But people were amazed, coming in and saying, 'They tell
us we can get clean needles here.'"

The needle-exchange program will operate three days per week, from
Tuesday to Thursday.

Atlantic City and three other municipalities - Camden, Newark and
Paterson - were given the authority to distribute clean needles
without a prescription under a December 2006 law signed by Gov. Jon
S. Corzine. Camden is expected to start its program in January.
Newark and Paterson expect to start soon after.

Atlantic City officials have been advocating the legalization of
needle exchange for years, viewing the program as an important health
tool in a city where one in 31 black males lives with HIV or AIDS. In
June 2004, the City Council became the first governing body in the
state to pass an ordinance approving needle-exchange programs, but
the ordinance was struck down in court three months later.

"For years, the best evidence from around the world has told us this
is what we should be doing to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, but our
hands were tied," said Ronald Cash, Director of Health and Human
Services for Atlantic City. "This year we truly have something to
celebrate in New Jersey for World AIDS Day."

Newly appointed Atlantic City Mayor Scott Evans spoke generally
Wednesday night about his support of the program, having not been
briefed on it yet.

"I think it's a big issue that we can help combat with this program,"
he said. "It's a program we just have to monitor and keep an eye on
and constantly reevaluate."

The Drug Policy Alliance of New Jersey continues to lobby for a law
that would allow for the pharmaceutical sale of syringes without a
prescription. New Jersey is one of only three states to require a
prescription to purchase a syringe in a pharmacy.