VILLAGE OKS LAW ON SYRINGE SALES

THE VILLAGE - A new city law passed this month may make it more difficult
for drug abusers to gain access to hypodermic syringes. City council
members passed an ordinance Aug. 3 banning the sale of hypodermic syringes
and needles to anyone who doesn't have a prescription from a physician or
veterinarian. The law took effect immediately.

Local pharmacists, who wanted to prevent drug abusers from obtaining
syringes, contacted city officials to request the change, City Manager
Bruce Stone said.

Stone said council members discussed drawbacks of the law, including other
uses people might have for syringes, but decided regulation was more
important. Possession of hypodermic syringes was not outlawed.

However, existing municipal paraphernalia laws ban the use or possession of
syringes for purposes related to illegal drugs, he said.

Pharmacies Post Signs

Officials at Eckerd, 2103 W Britton; Walgreens, 2100 W Britton; and
Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market, 9320 N Pennsylvania, said they have posted
signs notifying customers and employees of the new law.

Bryan Potter, executive director of the state Pharmacy Board, said no state
laws regulate the sale of hypodermic syringes, but that many pharmacies
have policies prohibiting their nonprescription sale.

"Pharmacies usually don't sell them to just anyone who walks in the door,"
Potter said.

Customers might not know the correct syringe for their medication because
different types of drugs can require different size needles. For example,
intravenous glucose requires a much larger needle than insulin, Potter said.

Anyone convicted of breaking the new law could face a $500 fine and up to
60 days in jail, Stone said.