Pubdate: Sat, 16 Oct 2004
Source: Times, The (Trenton, NJ)
Copyright: 2004 The Times
Contact:  http://www.nj.com/times/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/458
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?137 (Needle Exchange)

LIFE-AND-DEATH ISSUE

At least 900 children have died in New Jersey in the past 10 years because 
of AIDS and HIV-related illnesses - an average of two every week.

Did they deserve to die because they indulged in intravenous drug use or 
unprotected sex? That's the cold-blooded attitude some people have toward 
AIDS victims.

No; these hundreds of little victims did nothing to cause the disease that 
claimed their lives. They were infected in their mother's wombs. Many of 
the mothers themselves were victims of the collateral damage wrought by 
AIDS. They contracted the virus from their sexual partners who, in turn, 
had gotten it from contaminated heroin needles.

The fact is that nobody "deserves" to get AIDS. It's the responsibility of 
a decent society to do everything it reasonably can do to stem the spread 
of infection, even among drug addicts. That means providing adequate 
treatment facilities for addicts who sincerely desire to break the habit. 
And it means taking steps to ensure that even those users who cling to 
their addiction have access to clean needles - for their own sake, for the 
sake of their wives or girlfriends, and for the sake of the babies to whom 
those women will give birth.

Political leaders in other states know this, and have acted with compassion 
on that knowledge. New Jersey and Delaware are the only two states that 
forbid both the sale of syringes without a prescription and the 
establishment of needle-exchange programs that allow a drug user to swap a 
used needle for a clean one. Needle exchange, properly managed, is endorsed 
by leading public-health authorities and backed up by comprehensive studies 
showing that it reduces the spread of HIV/AIDS and doesn't encourage drug 
use. New Jersey, however, which clings to its punitive laws, leads the 
nation in the rate of AIDS and HIV resulting from shared-needle use - twice 
the national average. New Jersey also leads in the rate of HIV/AIDS 
infection among women, and has the third highest rate among children.

It's an enduring disgrace that New Jersey underfunds its drug treatment and 
rehabilitation facilities. But how can one describe the continuing refusal 
of our state's politicians to allow life-saving needle-exchange programs 
and over-the-counter sales of syringes? That's beyond disgraceful.

New Jersey has the opportunity at hand to reform. Earlier this month, the 
Assembly approved two carefully crafted bills sponsored by Assembly 
Majority Leader Joseph Roberts, D-Brooklawn; Assemblyman Reed Gusciora, 
D-Princeton, and others, that would authorize municipalities to set up 
exchange programs under strict guidelines, and would allow adults to 
purchase up to 10 syringes without a prescription. The measures have the 
support of Gov. James E. McGreevey, who belatedly - post-resignation 
speech, that is - has decided to govern in the public interest.

But the bills have encountered tough going in the Senate Health Committee, 
where they failed to muster a majority last week. The chief roadblock is 
Sen. Ronald Rice, D-Newark, an ex-cop whose visceral disgust for drug users 
has robbed him of perspective and judgment. Far more discouraging than Sen. 
Rice's blind resistance is the attitude of three Republicans who normally 
approach issues objectively but are opposing the bills for what smells like 
political reasons: Robert W. Singer of Jackson, a co-sponsor of 
needle-exchange legislation in the past; Diane Allen of Burlington 
Township, and Tom Kean Jr. of Westfield. They argue that what is really 
needed is more money for treatment - although treatment initiatives and 
needle exchange are obviously complementary, not mutually exclusive.

The bills' prime sponsor, Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Woodbridge, who chairs the 
committee, says he'll try to educate his colleagues and will give them 
"plenty of time to hear about the issue." Sadly, while these public 
servants struggle with their learning curve, innocent children are dying - 
three every week. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake