DISPOSAL AT ISSUE IN SYRINGE SALES

Pharmacist Tracey Cole of Louis & Clark Pharmacy in Holyoke said
yesterday she understands the public health sentiment supporting the
selling of $5 bags of 10 hypodermic needles to people who use them,
including intravenous drugs users.

But she said she is concerned about how and where people will discard
the syringes.

So far the state has designated fire and police stations and other
municipal buildings as discard sites and directed pharmacists to hand
out literature to patrons detailing the proper way to discard a needle.

A law approved by the state House and Senate in July allowing
pharmacies to sell syringes without a prescription went into effect
yesterday. Sales are restricted to those 18 and older.

Cole is concern that improperly discharged syringes pose the threat
of an accidental needle stick and the transmission of HIV and hepatitis C.

"We really need to look at the disposal issue. The closest needle
exchange is in Northampton," she said.

Cole, who had not sold any needles yesterday, did field several
inquiries about availability.

Public health advocates said they believe the needle sales will
improve public health given because many communities large and small
are seeing a rise in heroin use and high HIV and hepatitis C rates,
state epidemiologists have said.

"The ability to go to the pharmacy and buy disease free needles that
may stop the transmission of these diseases is critical and good
public health," said Springfield Health and Human Services
Commissioner Helen Caulton Harris.

Still critics like Springfield City Councilor Timothy Rooke maintain
the law is misplaced.

"I think it is the most ineffective piece of legislation ever passed
in the history of Massachusetts," said Rooke. The councilor said that
many of those targeted by the legislation are already infected.

Timothy W. Purington, director of prevention services at Tapestry
Health, which runs the Northampton Needle Exchange Program, said
access to clean needles will reduce disease transmission rates among
addicts and their partners.

"We are very happy about this legislation. It puts us on course with
47 other states. ... It is a really important step toward public
health. But there is not just one solution to solve the problem," he said.

Tapestry offices in Northampton, Springfield and Holyoke will act as
disposal sites, he said.

Jay Breines, director of the Holyoke Health Center, said it will also
consider becoming a disposal site. Breines said the new law is a step
in the right direction, but he remains a proponent of needle exchange
because it offers addicts a chance to connect with counselors and
treatment. In the coming months the Legislature will decide whether
to phase out or expand such programs.

Springfield and Holyoke rejected needle exchange, which would have
allowed users to discard dirty needles for clean ones while creating
a dialogue around substance abuse treatment.

Holyoke has the third highest proportion of HIV infection due to
intravenous drug use in the state, followed by Springfield, according
to the state Department of Public Health. New Bedford and Fall River
were first and second.

"It is a major problem," Breines said. "And it is not going away."

Admissions to state-funded substance abuse treatment program have
increased exponentially between 1995 and 2004. The number of
admissions for heroin use increased by 55 percent from 24,754 in
fiscal year 1995 to 38,479 in 2004, according to the Department of
Public Health's Web site.

Jon Zibbell, an advocate of legislation, said some addicts share
needles because there was a "scarcity."

"With the pharmacy bill people no longer have to fear arrest and it
extends access to those who need it," he said.