CLEAN-NEEDLE BILL CLEARS COMMITTEE IN THE N.J. SENATE

The measure would grant six communities the authority to create pilot
syringe-exchange programs.

TRENTON - A measure aimed at curbing the spread of AIDS by supplying
intravenous drug abusers with clean needles cleared the state Senate
budget committee yesterday, moving the contentious bill farther along
in the Senate than it has ever gone before.

New Jersey continues to be the only state in the nation that doesn't
provide drug abusers access to sterile syringes.

State Sen. Nia Gill (D., Essex) noted New Jersey's "dubious
distinction" yesterday while she lauded the bill's forward movement.

"It is scientifically undisputed that access to sterile syringes is
an effective tool as part of a comprehensive plan to fight the spread
of HIV-AIDS," Gill said. "New Jersey has twice the rate of HIV
infection resulting from shared needle use compared to the rest of the nation."

Specifically, the measure would grant six cities and towns, including
Camden, the authority to create pilot syringe-exchange programs and
would dedicate $10 million for drug treatment. The six communities
have not yet been named.

The bill is a compromise that lawmakers hammered out last month as
the proposal was heard by a Senate health panel. The original bill
allowed an unlimited number of needle-access programs to be
established but set aside no money for drug treatment.

Under the current proposal, the state would give no money for needle
exchange. The cities that set up programs would use their own money
or seek grant funds through nonprofit agencies, said Roseanne Scotti,
director of the Drug Policy Alliance, an advocacy group.

Before it can become law, the measure must still be approved by the
full Senate, then go through the Assembly and be signed by Gov.
Corzine, who has said he would support it. The Assembly passed a
similar bill two years ago, but it got bogged down in the Senate.

Opponents contend that giving needles to drug abusers fuels addiction
and its accompanying ills and fails to address social problems that
contribute to drug addiction.

Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts (D., Camden) yesterday said he would
shepherd two Assembly bills through the lower house. One would allow
municipalities to have needle exchange programs and the other would
permit purchase of syringes without a prescription. A similar
nonprescription syringe measure stalled in the Senate health
committee last month.