NEEDLE EXCHANGE BILL DIES

A bill that would have allowed local communities to offer needle-exchange
programs to prevent the spread of AIDS died late Monday evening on a
straight party-line vote in the state's House Education, Welfare, and
Institutions committee.

Seven Republicans voted to kill SB 99, and four Democrats voted to save it,
after more than 30 witnesses testified for several hours on the
controversial issue. The party unity was notable, as the bill last week
became a lightning rod for a split between the moderate and conservative
factions of the state Republican Party.

Under the bill, cities that opted to offer needle-exchange programs would
have been exempt from state paraphernalia laws -- but not from laws banning
drug possession or sale.

Bill advocates said the issue boiled down to public health: stopping the
spread of AIDS by allowing a dirty needle to be exchanged for a clean one.

"There is no downside here," Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter said.

Ritter, who testified he had doubled drug prosecutions in Denver in just
three or four years, said he had watched a needle-exchange program operate
in Cook County, Ill., and found that it had reduced the number of discarded
needles lying in the street and increased the contact drug users had with
drug counselors offering treatment.

"And you have the opportunity to save a life," Ritter said.

*The wrong message*

But opponents, including Rep. Mark Paschall, R-Arvada, argued that the bill
sent the wrong message and promoted an immoral lifestyle.

"This is an open door to police-free zones," Paschall said.

Both the Senate and the House sponsors of the bill are Republicans: Sen.
Dottie Wham of Denver and Rep. Steve Tool of Fort Collins. But the chairman
of the state Republican Party, Steve Curtis, strongly opposes the program.
Curtis was criticized roundly by a number of Republicans for having weighed
in with his opposition at a recent campaign training session.

In response, Curtis circulated a letter over the weekend, arguing that his
comments were made in a private meeting and were not for public consumption.

He urged party members to stop airing their differences in public.

"Running to the press with...grievances will only exacerbate the appearance
of a fracture in the party," Curtis warned. He also said he was ignoring
attempts by some party members to recall him.

Monday morning, just hours before the committee hearing, Paschall held a
news conference in which he said that while the bill's goal was laudable,
it would fail to save lives and instead "condone destructive and suicidal
behaviors."

"We should be promoting high ethical and moral standards, insisting on
virtuous lifestyles which foster the respect of life, liberty and
property," Paschall said, reading from a prepared statement.

Carl Raschke, who said he was representing the free-market Independence
Institute, agreed with Paschall, saying this was just the first step toward
legalizing heroin.

"We should not sacrifice our (drug polciy) on the slimy altar of political
expedience," he said.

Similar arguments were made during the hearing on the bill . HEWI
Chairwoman Mary Ellen Epps asked witnesses if they thought the bill would
make Denver more like Amsterdam, a place where needles are exchanged and
shelter for addicts provided.

It was a suggestion that incensed Rep. Nolbert Chavez, D-Denver.

"Saying that that's going to come next is just an inappropriate scare
tactic," Chavez told Epps.

Epps did not agree, and said so.

Tempers ran hot as it became clear that the bill was going to die.

"Seven to four, huh," said Dr. Matthew Hine of Colorado Springs.

"Which of you representatives will vote to support public health and which
are going to vote against innocent women and children?

"What will happen next week and next month if persons contract a deadly
disease because of your failure to act?"

Majority Whip Joyce Lawrence was quick to respond.

"I resent that comment being made," she said.

"Don't lay false guilt on me," agreed Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, R-Fort Morgan.

*'A public health issue'*

But Rep. Bob Hagedorn, D-Denver, told the doctor his testimony was simply
honest. "There are probably some people here who resent that honesty..."
Hagedorn said. "But this is indeed a public health issue, not a moral
issue."

Rep. Gloria Leyba, D-Denver, said in her urban district there are already
needles lying around, posing a health hazard in parks and on streets.

"A needle exchange program won't cause this," she said. "The problem is
already there. It's real."