Pubdate: Wed, 25 Aug 1999 Source: Sacramento Bee (CA) Copyright: 1999 The Sacramento Bee Contact: P.O.Box 15779, Sacramento, CA 95852 Feedback: http://www.sacbee.com/about_us/sacbeemail.html Website: http://www.sacbee.com/ Forum: http://www.sacbee.com/voices/voices_forum.html Note: You may contact California Governor Gray Davis: Phone: (916) 445-2841 Fax: (916) 445-4633 Clean needles save lives: Exchange programs should be made legal The Sacramento Bee Aug. 25, 1999 A bill legalizing needle exchange programs squeaked out of the state Legislature yesterday, raising hopes that -- after almost a decade of turning its back -- California will at last allow cities and counties to use this proven tool to prevent the spread of AIDS among intravenous drug users, their sexual partners and their children. By signing the bill, AB 518 by Assemblywoman Kerry Mazzoni, Gov. Gray Davis has the chance to show he is both bolder and more compassionate than his predecessor, Pete Wilson, who three times vetoed similar legislation. A growing body of research shows that needle exchange programs slow the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and of blood-borne hepatitis without increasing the use of illegal injection drugs. Yet California remains one of a few states that still bans such programs. It's time for that to change. Needle exchange programs discourage dangerous needle sharing by allowing IV drug users to trade used syringes for clean ones. They stem the spread of deadly disease not just among addicts, but among their sometimes unwitting sexual partners and, most compelling, among their unborn babies. Half the pediatric AIDS cases in this country result from births to intravenous drug users or their sexual partners. Wilson resisted legalizing the programs because of concerns they would contribute to drug addiction. But research by a number of reputable institutions -- the University of California, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Commission on AIDS and the General Accounting Office -- have found no evidence to support those worries. The research has shown that needle exchange can reduce new HIV-infections by one third. Those findings have been enough to convince Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca and L.A. Mayor Richard Riordan -- by no accounts wild-eyed liberals -- to lobby actively for the Mazzoni bill. AB 518 allows California cities and counties to establish locally funded exchange programs in consultation with the state Department of Health Services. The programs would be required to have counseling components to try to get drug users into treatment. Davis hasn't signaled his view of the bill. During his gubernatorial campaign, however, he did state his desire to "stop this epidemic from claiming more victims." That's exactly what needle exchange would do. Law enforcement groups continue to oppose it, and that kind of opposition is difficult for any politician to ignore. But Davis ought not to let the political risks blind him to the deadly consequences that the continued circulation of infected needles pose to California children. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake