LEGAL NEEDLES AND SAFETY

Something about the issue of illegal drugs makes otherwise rational
politicians and policy-makers take leave of their senses. Logic, science
and what common sense tells us about addiction go out the window.

Consider, for instance, laws making it illegal to purchase hypodermic
syringes. All understand that the needles are used by drug addicts. What
does not follow is that making them available encourages people to use them
for illicit purposes. Most everyone we know recoils at the thought of
anyone sticking a needle in their veins, let alone doing it themselves. Can
you imagine someone thinking, "I don't want to do heroin, but as long as
there's a clean needle available, I might as well"?

What logic and evidence shows us is that drug addicts will find a way to
get their fix. If a clean needle isn't available, they will share a dirty
one just used by one of their buddies.

What they get, too often, is more than a high. According to the state
(http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/opinion//search/index.bg?searchSite=recent&keyword=Department
of Public Health) Department of Public Health, 39 percent of people with
HIV/AIDS in the state contracted it from an infected needle, and 70 percent
of the state's Hepatitis C cases are tied to intravenous drug use.

As a matter of public health policy, the answer is simple: Let people
purchase needles at pharmacies without fear of prosecution. Forty-seven
states have already legalized such purchases, with a measurable reduction
in the infection rate. It's time Massachusetts joined them.

This week the Legislature's Public Health Committee, led by Sen. Susan
Fargo, D-Lincoln, D-Uxbridge, and Rep. Peter Koutoujian, D-Waltham,
reported out a bill legalizing the purchase of hypodermic needles. The bill
would allow pharmacies to sell an unlimited number of hypodermic needles
and syringes to anyone at least 18 years old, from diabetics who now need
prescriptions to illegal drug addicts, but pharmacists would be required to
include drug treatment materials in the package.

In addition to support from public health advocates, the measure has the
support of some law enforcement officials, including Middlesex County
District Attorney Martha Coakley, who see no conflict between common sense
public health measures and aggressive enforcement of drug laws.

It is opposed, however, by Gov.
(http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/opinion//search/index.bg?searchSite=recent&keyword=Mitt
Romney)Mitt Romney and legislators who buy into the flawed premise that
heroin users are paying attention to the "messages" being sent by Beacon
Hill lawmakers. That opposition has prevented earlier attempts to enact
similar bills into law.

This time, we're hopeful that legislators will choose a practical response
to a public health problem over political posturing over drugs.