Governor Approves Bold Measure to Protect Injection Drug Users from HIV, but Vetoes Another

"Finally, sound public health policy has trumped politics," Nina Grossman said as Governor Schwarzenegger signed an important new law to make sterile syringes more widely available to injection drug users in California. Grossman leads the AIDS Foundation's HIV Prevention Project, which distributes over 2.7 million syringes in San Francisco to prevent the spread of HIV and hepatitis to injection drug users, their sex partners and children. "The Governor deserves praise for enacting this new law, which will save many lives."

Grossman was speaking about legislation the AIDS Foundation has been working to enact over the last three years--SB 1159, authored by Senator John Vasconcellos (D-Santa Clara). This new law permits cities and counties to authorize pharmacies to sell up to ten sterile syringes to adults without a prescription. It also permits individuals in these jurisdictions to possess up to ten syringes obtained from authorized sources. California was only one of five remaining states in the country that prohibited the sale of syringes without a doctor's order, despite the fact that thousands of people become infected with HIV and hepatitis each year due to needle sharing.

Although advocates would have preferred a law that permits over-the-counter pharmacy sales of syringes throughout the entire state, enactment of this law is an historic accomplishment. "The Governor was willing to stand up to law enforcement groups who have argued, despite volumes of evidence to the contrary, that this lifesaving measure would increase crime and drug use," said Dana Van Gorder, the Foundation's Director of State Affairs. "We hope for the day when pharmacies throughout the state can sell syringes without having to obtain local approval. Nevertheless, the Governor's action is a bold and commendable step forward."

Unfortunately, Schwarzenegger vetoed another bill that would have expanded access to sterile syringes, AB 2871 by Assemblywoman Patty Berg (D-Santa Rosa). This bill would have corrected a major flaw in the needle exchange legislation signed in 1999 by Governor Gray Davis. That law requires the governing body of cities and counties choosing to operate needle exchange programs to declare a local health emergency every two to three weeks. This burdensome requirement has caused elected officials in at least nine counties to shy away from establishing lifesaving exchange programs because of their concern about constant opposition to those programs. The law vetoed by Schwarzenegger would have changed that requirement so that once a governing body declared an emergency, its health department could operate an exchange program indefinitely unless the governing body voted to terminate the emergency declaration.

In his veto message, Governor Schwarzenegger indicated a willingness to reconsider the bill in the future with some modifications. Van Gorder said advocates look forward to working with his office in 2005 to craft acceptable new language for the measure.

For more information, contact Dana Van Gorder at dvangord@sfaf.org or call 415-487-3099.