Bay Windows - November 17, 2005
Ethan Jacobs, ejacobs@baywindows.com.

The House vote was a long time coming, as for many years House leadership, led by former Speaker Tom Finneran, was unwilling to let the bill come before the full House for a vote. Finneran stepped down last year and was replaced by Sal DiMasi (D-Boston), a strong supporter of the needle access bill. Rep. Byron Rushing (D-Boston), who first introduced the bill 10 years ago, said it never made it out of the Committee on Ways and Means until this year, and that brought lobbying efforts to a stand-still.

"I think what made the difference is the change in leadership in the House and that Sal DiMasi is committed to having bills come to the floor. So once we knew that the bill was going to come to the floor you can do a different kind of lobbying on the legislation," said Rushing. "We had a more serious debate. It's hard to get into serious debates with members if they don't think the bill is going to arrive."

Rushing also credited AIDS Action's aggressive lobbying efforts with making the difference.

Haag said AIDS Action has spent the past seven months relentlessly lobbying Beacon Hill, educating legislators on the proven track record of clean needle programs in other states. Many legislators were concerned that offering needles in pharmacies would encourage criminal activity or encourage addicts to continue using, but Haag said lobbyists showed them evidence that that was not the case. One of the most dramatic examples is Rhode Island, which passed a needle access bill in 2000. That year 21 percent of new HIV infections were caused by dirty needles, but by 2004 that number had dropped to 12.9 percent. Massachusetts is one of just three states in the country, along with New Jersey and Delaware, which bans the sale of needles in pharmacies.

"Every study done by the government [on clean needle programs] shows that there's no increase in crime and no increase in drug use and yet there is a decrease in HIV infection," said Haag.

She also credited Rushing, DiMasi, and a few other key lawmakers including the co-chairs of the Joint Committee on Public Health, Sen. Susan Fargo (D-Lincoln) and Rep. Peter Koutoujian (D-Waltham), as well as Sen. Robert O'Leary (D-Barnstable), for winning support from their colleagues.

Haag said the lobbying of the law enforcement community also helped dispel the idea that needle access would lead to a rise in crime. Middlesex County District Attorney Martha Coakley and Suffolk County DA Daniel Conley testified on Beacon Hill in favor of the law, and Norfolk County DA William Keating submitted testimony. Police officials from Boston and Cambridge, which already have clean needle policies, also testified in favor of the bill.

AIDS Action began the push for increased clean needle access back in 1987, but until this week's vote they made little headway. Larry Kessler, founding director of AIDS Action, said when advocates first began campaigning for needle exchange programs almost no lawmakers would support them, fearing that they would be promoting criminal activity and drug abuse.

"In 1987 I think we had maybe five legislators in the whole State House who got it," said Kessler. "They tried to have some hearings. Nobody would come. So for many years we couldn't even get bills out of committee."

Efforts were further stalled in 1988 when then-Governor Michael Dukakis, in the midst of his presidential campaign, told the Boston Globe that he opposed needle exchange and that he would continue to oppose it even if research showed that it could slow the spread of HIV without encouraging drug use.

Yet even in those early days Kessler said there was plenty of evidence to suggest that needle access programs worked. Countries like Switzerland, Canada, Great Britain and Australia all began programs in the late 80s, and as in more recent U.S. studies, the programs were found to drive down infection without causing an increase in drug use. In some cases, such as in a program in Birmingham, England, Kessler said, the needle exchange program was leading people into treatment, since the people coming for clean needles were also given access to addition treatment services. But across the state legislators and local officials remained unconvinced.

"In my mind there was [enough evidence in favor of needle access programs], but in the mind of the Legislature, what they always kept saying was, 'Drug addiction in Britain, Canada, Switzerland, is different. We're Americans," said Kessler.

Things began to look up in 1995 when the Legislature passed a bill allowing 10 cities to implement their own needle exchange programs. Boston, Cambridge, Northampton and Provincetown all took part, but no other cities joined them. Kessler said despite lobbying from HIV/AIDS advocates, cities with high rates of IV-drug use including Springfield, Worcester, New Bedford, Lynn, Lawrence, and Holyoke all refused to adopt similar programs.

"All the areas where infections have continued to surge among addicts are places that don't have needle exchange," said Kessler.

In May a spokesperson for Romney, Eric Fehrnstrom, told the Boston Globe that he opposes the needle access bill, against the recommendation of the Department of Public Health, saying it promotes criminal behavior. Fehrnstrom said Romney would wait to see the bill before deciding whether to veto it. Julie Teer, Romney's press secretary, told the Boston Globe the day after the House vote that the governor would give the legislation a full review when it reaches his desk. Romney's office did not return a call to comment for this story.

The bill would make needles available to people over 18 at pharmacies. Needles would be kept behind the counter, and Haag said people would have to request them from pharmacists. The needle packages would also contain information about how to obtain treatment for their addictions.

Haag said despite the concern of some lawmakers, the arguments of advocates proved persuasive.

"In the end I believe people knew it is the right thing to do and it will save lives," said Haag. "People don't deserve to live with a lifelong deadly disease while they try to overcome whatever addiction [they have], and I think people were swayed by that argument."

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