SUPPORT NEEDLE SWAP PLAN

Politics: Needle Exchange Legislation Deserves Support.

The Legislature has an opportunity to approve a bill that would help
prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and other diseases by legalizing controlled
needle exchange programs.

Assembly Bill 518 sponsored by Assemblywoman Kerry Mazzoni (DSan Rafael),
which is due for Senate consideration Thursday, deserves legislative
support as well as Gov. Gray Davis' signature. Injection drug use, the
second leading cause of HIV transmission in California, is a primary source
of infection among women who either use drugs or have sexual partners who
do. Sadly, their children also suffer. California criminalizes the
furnishing, possession or use of hypodermic needles without a prescription.
The bill would remove this prohibition and permit, in carefully regulated
circumstances, the exchange of used needles for new ones, thus reducing the
number of infectious needles in circulation. Needle exchange would be
implemented only in conjunction with drug recovery and other programs.

L.A.'s operational procedures would make needles available on a replacement
basis only. The bill does not remove any prohibitions against the use of
illegal drugs. Needle exchange is also cost effective.

A clean needle costs less than $1, while treatment of AIDS may exceed
$100,000. This legislation would save lives.

That's why we hope that California's leaders will do the right thing by
approving it.