CALIFORNIANS SUPPORT NEEDLE EXCHANGE, CONDOMS FOR PRISONERS

According to a survey conducted by the state Department of Health Services
and the University of California-Berkeley, the majority of Californians
support access to clean needles for injection drug users and condoms for
prisoners to fight the spread of HIV.

"These clearly make sense and the survey indicates strong support that the
state should pay for these programs," said lead researcher Joel Moskowitz.
While Contra Costa and Alameda counties declared local states of emergency
in 1999 to access county money for needle exchange programs, most
California counties prohibit the use of county funds for such programs.
Sexual activity is illegal in state prisons, and distributing condoms would
send a mixed message, said Terry Thornton, spokesperson for the California
Department of Corrections.

The survey showed that 62 percent of Californians believe condoms for
prisoners and needle exchange policies are effective and support state
funding to carry them out. Fifty percent or more of Californians support
requiring HIV testing for pregnant women, requiring physicians to report
HIV cases to the state, and providing clean needles to injection drug users
in prison. "These are more radical than some of the current approaches,"
said Maya Tholandi, a study co-author from the state Office of AIDS. Ten to
19 percent of California's 126,000 reported AIDS cases can be traced to
injection drug use, she said.

Nearly everyone who participated in the telephone survey correctly answered
questions about the likely methods of contracting HIV, such as having
unprotected sex with an HIV- positive person or sharing a needle with
someone with HIV.