Get Active Subscribe Support Us

NJ ADOPTS NEEDLE EXCHANGE

New Jersey, where an estimated 14 percent of new HIV cases are attributable to shared needles by injecting drug users, has finally adopted a needle-exchange program.  On December 11, the Senate voted 23-16 and the Assembly 49-27 to approve the measure.  Democratic Governor Jon Corzine has pledged to sign the bill, calling the science on the issue "clear."

New Jersey had been the only state "that does not allow injection drug users access to clean needles through community-based needle-exchange programs or with a prescription," the Kaiser Network reported.  The programs will be established in six cities and allocate an additional $10 million to drug treatment.