Pubdate: Sun, 01 May 2005
Source: Standard-Times (MA)
Section: Pg A1
Copyright: 2005 The Standard-Times
Contact:  http://www.s-t.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/422
Author: David Kibbe
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?143 (Hepatitis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?137 (Needle Exchange)

SENATOR SUGGESTS NEEDLES SOLD WITHOUT PRESCRIPTION

BOSTON -- At least one state lawmaker believes last week's firestorm over a 
proposed needle exchange program in Westport provides ample evidence of why 
an alternative solution is needed.

Sen. Robert O'Leary, a Democrat from Barnstable, has re-introduced 
legislation to allow people 18 and older to buy hypodermic needles at 
drugstores without a prescription.

"I think the situation in Westport sort of reaffirms the need for 
decriminalization" of needles, Sen. O'Leary said. "The needle exchange 
programs simply don't work. That's because they require a local referendum 
and they frankly raise the prospect of people moving into an area who have 
drug problems to exchange needles, and that alarms people."  The 
Legislature's Public Health Committee will hold a Statehouse hearing on the 
bill Wednesday. Last week, Westport selectmen initially approved a request 
by Stanley Street Treatment and Resources Inc. of Fall River to open a 
needle exchange center at 909 State Road. After public outrage -- more than 
300 people stormed a board meeting three days later -- the selectmen 
reversed the decision. Sen. O'Leary originally filed the bill last year, 
but it stalled in the House Ways and Means Committee. For his effort, Sen. 
O'Leary was targeted by the state Republican Party during last fall's election.

A GOP mailing to Cape and islands district voters depicted a mother and 
child playing on a beach, juxtaposed with pictures of hypodermic needles. 
Undaunted, Sen. O'Leary won re-election and filed the same bill this 
session. "If you look at this issue carefully, it cries out for a change in 
state policy," Sen. O'Leary said. "To me, it's an important bill. It's easy 
to demagogue on it. It didn't dissuade me at all. We are going to save a 
lot of lives here, not just a few."

The measure has the support of Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and health 
organizations around the state, who say it is needed to prevent the spread 
of HIV and hepatitis C through shared needles.

Sen. O'Leary said his legislation would not give drug users the type of 
direct contact with counselors that they get at a needle exchange center, 
but they would receive an insert with warnings about the dangers of drug 
use and where they could seek help for drug and health issues.

"It eliminates the need for needle exchange programs," Sen. O'Leary said. 
"You don't try to control drugs by controlling needles. It doesn't work. A 
drug user is not going to not use drugs because he can't buy a needle." 
Rep. Martin Walsh, D-Boston, has filed a similar bill in the House. 
Massachusetts is one of only three states in the country where it is 
illegal to sell hypodermic needles to someone without a prescription, 
according to the Boston Public Health Commission. California approved a 
similar law this year. Statewide, 41 percent of HIV and AIDS cases are 
linked to needles. The numbers are even higher on SouthCoast. In New 
Bedford, a recent study found two of every three new cases of HIV have been 
linked to needles. Valerie Bassett of the Boston Public Health Commission, 
said legalized sale of hypodermic needles would not end the need for needle 
exchanges. "I think they are complementary, and sometimes can reach 
different people," she said. Other communities have wrestled with needle 
exchange proposals for years. And, despite strong support from public 
health officials, most have been rejected. Only four communities in 
Massachusetts have approved needle exchanges -- Boston, Cambridge, 
Northampton and Provincetown. The idea was turned down by voters in New 
Bedford.

Five years ago, former Gov. A. Paul Cellucci vetoed a budget rider that 
would have allowed the state Department of Public Health to establish 
needle exchange programs in cities and towns without local approval. "I 
don't think we should shove them down the throats of local communities," 
Gov. Cellucci said at the time.

Since then, state outreach efforts to convince other cities and towns to 
set up needle exchanges have failed.
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MAP posted-by: Beth