ROMNEY - NO TO NEEDLE PLAN

BOSTON -- Gov. Mitt Romney on Friday vetoed a bill that would allow
for the sale of hypodermic needles without a prescription, saying it
could help promote heroin use and send the wrong message to young people.

Romney said the bill, which proponents hope will stem the spread of
blood-borne diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis-C, may instead have
"unintended consequences."

"We cannot in good conscience say that we should make needles more
available to heroin addicts," Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey said at a press
conference. "It sends the wrong message, and it facilitates our very
deadly plague of heroin abuse."

The Romney administration pointed to state Department of Public
Health statistics showing that the number of cases of HIV being
transmitted through sharing tainted needles has dropped from about
500 in 1997 to fewer than 150 in 2003.

During the same period, the number of hospitalizations for heroin use
nearly doubled, from 9,612 in 1997 to 17,704 in 2003, and the number
of fatal overdoses attributed to heroin increased from 178 to 574 in
that time, according to the DPH.

Healey said she has spoken with numerous law enforcement officials
who said that the bill would result in "more needles being in
circulation and a greater likelihood of coming into contact with
contaminated needles."

"We feel that ultimately this bill does not create a proper balance
between public safety and public health," Healey said.

The House supported the bill by a 115-to-37 vote, and the Senate
backed it by a 26-to-8 vote.

Pittsfield Police Chief Anthony Riello, who is vice president of the
Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, said he did not support
allowing needles to be sold over-the-counter because it might put
officers in harm's way.

"Anything that makes it easier for drug users to get needles is not
good," Riello said. "If they have to go through their doctor to get a
prescription, then that's good and that could be a deterrent."