LOS ANGELES COUNTY : County Urged to Create Needle Exchange Program
Representatives of groups that distribute clean needles to drug addicts to prevent the spread of AIDS asked the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday to create a county needle exchange program.
The supervisors received a report from the Department of Health Services on needle exchange programs, but will wait until next week to decide whether to ask staff to create a pilot needle exchange proposal.
The board has gone on record in the past in support of state bills that would have legalized needle exchange programs. But the legislation always has been vetoed by Gov. Pete Wilson.
Recently, Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan and the City Council declared an HIV/AIDS state of emergency in the city. They asked police to overlook laws that would have prevented needle exchange programs.
Joel Bellman, press deputy to Supervisor Ed Edelman, said the county is looking at creating a structured program. The idea, he said, is to make a one-for-one exchange of needles with drug addicts, and to take advantage of the face-to-face contact to encourage addicts to get help, Bellman said.
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