|
Newsbrief:
Schwarzenegger
Signs
Syringe
Access
Bill,
Vetoes
NEP
Bill
9/24/04
California Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger(R) October 13 signed into law legislation allowing
people to buy
up to 10 syringes at a time without a prescription. The
new law, which is designed to reduce the
incidence of HIV and Hepatitis C infections from needle-sharing by
injection
drug users, is similar to measures approved by the legislature but
vetoed by
Democratic Gov. Gray Davis.
"My administration
supports this measure because it will prevent the spread of HIV,
hepatitis and
other blood-borne diseases among injection drug users, their sexual
partners
and their children," Schwarzenegger wrote in a statement issued with
the
bill signing. "Research conducted
on syringe access through pharmacies in other states concluded that
access to
sterile syringes and needles significantly decreased HIV and [hepatitis
C], but
did not increase drug use or crime rates."
The bill, sponsored by
Sen. John Vasconcellos (D), won approval only after restrictions were
added. It sets out a trial program lasting
until the
end of 2010, and pharmacists will be allowed to sell syringes only if
local
authorities approve the program.
The same day, Gov.
Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that would have made operating needle
exchange
programs (NEPs) easier by eliminating the requirement that they be
continuously
reauthorized by local authorities. Under
California law, NEPs are legal only when local health
authorities declare a medical emergency. At
least 14 cities or counties currently run
NEPs, but under current law, the declaration of a health emergency must
be
renewed every two or three weeks.
The bill did not require
close enough local control, he said. "While
cumbersome, the reauthorization ensures that local government and local
public
health officials review the status of syringe exchange programs when
deciding
to continue the program," the governor wrote. He
would consider a similar bill in the future
if language is added ensuring that health officials and law enforcement
have a
chance to weigh in to "ensure that the health benefits of a syringe
exchange program outweigh any potential adverse impact on the public
welfare."
Despite the mixed signals,
the Drug Policy Alliance's Glenn Backes hailed the signing of the
syringe sales
law. "This is the most important
AIDS-prevention legislation in the history of California," he told the Los Angeles Times. "Needle exchange the way Davis did it has helped create about 20 legal
access points
for sterile syringes. There are hundreds
of pharmacies in Los Angeles County which, if the county so chooses, could
become legal
points of access for sterile syringes."
Read the bill, SB 1159,
online at:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/bill/sen/sb_1151-1200/sb_1159_bill_20040826_enrolled.html
-- END --
|
Issue #355, 9/24/04
Editorial: The Moral Choice is Clear |
With New Sentencing Legislation Pending in Congress, Church Leaders Urge an End to Mandatory Minimums |
Patients, Doctors, Supporters Head to Washington to Demand Rescheduling of Marijuana as a Medicine |
For Second Year, John W. Perry Fund Helps Students with Drug Convictions Afford College |
DRCNet Interview: Michael Badnarik, Libertarian Party Presidential Candidate |
DRCNet Book Review: "Patients in The Crossfire: Casualties in The War On Medical Marijuana," by Americans For Safe Access |
Action Alert: Still Time to Contact Judiciary Committee Members About HEA Drug Provision |
Newsbrief: Schwarzenegger Signs Syringe Access Bill, Vetoes NEP Bill |
Newsbrief: Schwarzenegger Vetoes Bill Barring High School Drug Testing |
Newsbrief: New Jersey Needle Exchange Bill on Fast Track, Passes First Hurdle |
Newsbrief: Former Child Actor Macauley Culkin Busted for Drugs in All-Too-Typical Cave-In to Police Search Request |
Newsbrief: Montel Williams Show Brings Medical Marijuana Issue to the Masses |
Newsbrief: Bush Warns of Canada Drug Threat, Whistles Past Afghan Opium Fields |
Newsbrief: Guatemala Seeks More Anti-Drug Money from United States |
Newsbrief: Decades of Colombian Drug War Brings... New, More Efficient Drug Organizations |
Newsbrief: Narc Hates Free Publicity |
Newsbrief: This Week's Corrupt Cops Story |
Newsbrief: British Drug Policy Think Tank Says Government Abandoned Planned Heroin Maintenance Expansion |
This Week in History |
The Reformer's Calendar
|
This issue -- main page
This issue -- single-file printer version
Drug War Chronicle -- main page
Chronicle archives
|
PERMISSION to reprint or
redistribute any or all of the contents of Drug War Chronicle (formerly The Week Online with DRCNet is hereby
granted. We ask that any use of these materials include proper credit and,
where appropriate, a link to one or more of our web sites. If your
publication customarily pays for publication, DRCNet requests checks
payable to the organization. If your publication does not pay for
materials, you are free to use the materials gratis. In all cases, we
request notification for our records, including physical copies where
material has appeared in print. Contact: StoptheDrugWar.org: the Drug Reform Coordination Network,
P.O. Box 18402, Washington, DC 20036, (202) 293-8340 (voice), (202)
293-8344 (fax), e-mail [email protected]. Thank
you.
Articles of a purely
educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of the DRCNet
Foundation, unless otherwise noted.
|
