Advocates for HIV prevention scored a major victory in California when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation permitting the sale of sterile syringes without a prescription.
The sharing of blood contaminated syringes accounts for nearly 20 percent of HIV infections in California and nearly 30 percent nationwide. Yet many states place needless restrictions on sterile syringes, which provide an effective method of HIV prevention for people who inject drugs. Until this week, California was one of five U.S. states to impose a total ban on sales of syringes in pharmacies without a prescription.
“This legislation marks a triumph of science over prejudice,” said Jonathan Cohen, who has led Human Rights Watch’s efforts to support syringe legislation in California. “The perseverance of AIDS activists in California has led to a law that will save lives.”
Efforts to expand access to sterile syringes now turn to New Jersey, where lawmakers have proposed legislation that would legalize clean needle-exchange programs and pharmacy sales of syringes. Last June, Human Rights Watch issued an open letter to local officials in New Jersey urging them to establish these programs as a public health imperative.
