Governors in two states Monday signed into law bills that would ease injection drug users' access to clean needles. In one case, legislators overrode a gubernatorial veto to enact the law; in the other, the governor fended off Republican opposition to sign the bill.
In Delaware, Gov. Ruth Ann Minner signed into law a bill that will create a pilot needle exchange program in Wilmington. In her signing statement, Minner said she hopes the program will lower the state's HIV/AIDS infection rate and long-term health care costs associated with the disease.
Meanwhile, the Massachusetts Senate voted Monday night to join the House in overriding a Gov. Mitt Romney (R) veto of a bill that decriminalizes the possession of needles without a prescription and deregulates their sale.
Now, New Jersey is the only state with neither a needle exchange law nor a law providing access to needles without a prescription.