SYRINGES NOW AVAILABLE WITHOUT A PRESCRIPTION

Yolo County has not decided whether to authorize non-prescription syringe
sales at local pharmacies under a new state law intended to reduce
transmission of HIV, hepatitis C and other blood-borne diseases among
injection drug users. The Yolo County Health Department supports the new
law and officials hope to get county approval to allow such sales in the
near future, said Norma Springsteen of YCHD.

"We are taking the issue to the county board of supervisors," said
Springsteen. "As far as I know, [it] might not be put before the board
until February or March, but we are actively asking the Health Council for
support," she said.

Under the state law, only those needles held in appropriate containers
would be exempt from drug paraphernalia statutes, which are still in
effect, according to the California Department of Health Services. The law
also established the Disease Prevention Demonstration Project to monitor
the amount of sales during the five-year allowance period. By January 15,
2010, CDHS will report sales results to the governor and legislature and
ask for an extension, if necessary. Over 24,000 HIV infections in
California have resulted from shared needles since 1981, CDHS figures state.