LAWMAKERS SEND BILL TO ROMNEY ALLOWING OPEN SALE OF SYRINGES

BOSTON -- Robert Myers, whose son stumbled across two discarded
syringes on a recent school trip, and Larry Day, who came down with
the virus that causes AIDS by sharing dirty needles, couldn't be
farther apart on the issue of legalizing over-the-counter sales of
hypodermic needles.

The two spoke at competing news conferences yesterday -- one by Lt.
Gov. Kerry Healey opposing a bill legalizing needle sales, the other
by Middlesex District Attorney Martha Coakley and other Democrats
supporting the legislation. Healey is a Republican candidate for
governor, and Coakley is a candidate for attorney general.

The public wrangling came as the House and Senate gave final approval
to the bill yesterday, sending it to Gov. Mitt Romney, who is expected
to veto it.

Myers said he had warned his 10-year-old son Roarke to steer clear if
he saw any needles during his class trip to Boston. Myers said his son
took that advice when he came across two used needles in Boston Common.

"We have to be concerned with the safety not only of people who use
drugs, but everyone else in society too," said Myers, a 42-year-old
accountant from Chelmsford.

Day, who is HIV-positive, said if the bill had been law during the 25
years he was an intravenous drug user, he might have been able to
avoid the virus.

The bill came too late for him, but could help others still in the
grip of addiction, said Day, 48, who works for the AIDS Action Committee.

"I think about the people who are coming behind me, the lives that can
be saved," he said. "We're not just talking about the life of the
person who's using the drugs, but it's their mother, their son, their
daughter."

Supporters say the bill will slow the spread of diseases such as AIDS
and hepatitis C while critics say it would give tacit approval to
illegal drug use.

The proposal is quickly becoming a campaign issue.

Healey said the bill would put the public at risk, especially children
who might find discarded needles at the beach or in a sandbox.

"Imagine your children not only coming upon dirty needles in the park,
but standing next to a drug addict in the checkout line at CVS who is
there to buy more needles to feed his or her addiction," Healey said,
speaking over the shouts of about two dozens supporters of the bill.

Healey acknowledged that allowing the sale of needles could slow the
spread of disease, but said in this case public safety concerns are
more important.

Healey also said more needles would place police more at risk of being
stuck when searching suspects.

Coakley said the bill will actually make it less likely that police
are stuck, since suspects will have no reason to lie about having needles.

She also said there's no evidence that allowing the sale of syringes
without a prescription leads to an increase in crime and that more
than a third of the people living with AIDS in Massachusetts were
infected using dirty needles.

"As district attorney, I can tell you there is little or no effect on
public safety," she said. "The states where needles are available have
not found any increase in drug use or crime as a result of it."

Forty-seven states allow the over-the-counter sale of hypodermic
needles. The bill passed by wide margins in the House and Senate.

Coakley also said that very few people are ever prosecuted for the
crime of possessing a hypodermic needles.