LEGAL NEEDLE EXCHANGE TO BE SOUGHT IN FRESNO

FresnoNeedle-exchange advocates plan to ask Fresno County to declare a local
medical emergency that would allow intravenous drug users to legally
exchange dirty hypodermic needles for clean ones.

Under a law signed by Gov. Davis in October, local governments can declare a
medical emergency in response to a public health threat. During such an
emergency, no one distributing clean needles would be subject to
prosecution.

Four people are scheduled to go to trial Feb. 7 in Fresno for handing out
clean needles and syringes. They face up to a year in jail on misdemeanor
charges of possessing a hypodermic needle without a prescription.

With 15,000 intravenous drug abusers in Fresno County, a medical crisis
exists, said Tony Mello, founder of the San Joaquin Valley Exchange Works.
Mello's organization hands out needles at parks and on street corners.