Bay Windows - June 22, 2006
Ethan Jacobs, ejacobs@baywindows.com

Advocates of the pharmacy access bill, which was enacted by the House and Senate today and is set to go to Governor Mitt Romney's desk, argue that it will reduce HIV transmission among IV drug users, and they say the evidence from the other 47 states where needle sales are allowed bears this out. AIDS Action Committee (AAC) cites a Connecticut study showing that that state saw a 40 percent decrease in needle sharing after needle sales were deregulated. Another study cited by AAC found that in cities that prohibit over-the-counter sales of syringes the HIV infection rate among IV drug users as twice as high as in those cities without a prohibition. Both Healey and state Sen. Scott Brown (R-Wrentham), who also spoke out against the bill, agreed that the bill may reduce HIV infection rates but said they could not support it.

"Like Sen. Brown I don't contest that that is not true. What I do say is that you need to balance public safety concerns with public health concerns, and in this case my view is that public safety concerns come out on top," said Healey.

As evidence of the danger of the bill she invited Bob Myers, a Chelmsford resident, to talk about an incident last week in which his 10-year-old son, Rourke, and some friends found two hypodermic needles on the grass at Boston Common during a school field trip. Myers said that thankfully his son knew not to touch the needles and instead to tell his teacher, but he worried about the safety of other children who might come upon needles in public.

"We have to be concerned with the safety not only of people who use drugs but for everyone else in society as well, and I think if we already have needles laying around in the Common then obviously they're available and accessible to whoever wants to use them," said Myers, who seemed unaware that advocates of the pharmacy access bill were fighting specifically for access to clean and sterile needles, not simply for access to needles in general.

Healey, in a statement not likely to earn her the label "compassionate conservative," warned that if the bill passes drug addicts will mingle with children at drug stores around the state.

"We need to make sure that this bill goes no further. Imagine your children not only coming upon dirty needles in the park but standing next to a drug addict in the check-out line at CVS who is there to buy more needles to feed his or her addiction," said Healey.

She also warned that the bill would increase the risk that law enforcement officers would be wounded by needles when searching the persons of drug addicts.

"This will only increase the likelihood that our officers may be exposed to disease due to the fact of having dirty needles on the person of people who they are arresting," said Healey. "This is the wrong priority for our legislature. We have many other things that we ought to be addressing and this should be a very low priority."

Healey promised to work with lawmakers to build enough support to sustain Romney's expected veto of the bill. The governor has been an outspoken opponent of the legislation.

Following Healey's press conference, the crowd's attention shifted to the front entrance of the Statehouse, where the state Democratic Party held a press conference in support of the bill. Coakley rebutted Healey's claim that the bill would pose a danger to law enforcement.

"In talking to Boston police and in talking to Cambridge police in my district the leaders of those agencies agree that there will be no increase in crime or lack of public safety and in fact say that it increases officer safety, because when individuals aren't concerned [that] the needle they have now may be the last one and they keep it on them it means officers have a decreased risk of having to handle an individual or speak with an individual or for an EMT to get stuck by a needle that's infected," Coakley said. She also discounted claims that the bill would promote drug use or increase the number of used syringes in public places.

"Most importantly and as district attorney I can tell you that there is little or no affect on the public safety issue," said Coakley. "The states where the needles are available have not found any increase in drug use or crime as a result of it."

John Auerbach, executive director of the Boston Public Health Commission, spoke on behalf of Mayor Thomas Menino and the Boston police. He said the police commissioners agree with Coakley that the pharmacy access bill would not threaten public safety. He also announced Menino's and his own strong support for the bill.

"The mayor has testified in the State House about the importance of pharmacy access. He says that that's important because he knows that needle access will save lives. It's a public health program that's been proven," said Auerbach. "When I worked at the state health department for 10 years and in 10 years of working at the city health department we've looked at many different AIDS prevention programs and many different public health programs. None have been evaluated as carefully as the issues related to needle access. We know this will work. Passing this bill and defeating the veto will mean that lives are saved."

State Sen. Robert O'Leary (D-Barnstable), the sponsor of the bill, accused opponents of failing to show any evidence that it would threaten public safety or increase drug use.

"The people who are speaking in opposition to this have regularly said over and over again that decriminalizing needles promotes drug use," said O'Leary. "And what we've said back is give us one statistic, give us one study that demonstrates that. And there has been a dead silence."

Larry Day, AAC's manager of community relations, accused Healey and opponents of the bill of ignoring the reality of drug abuse and said that he himself struggled with IV drug abuse for 25 years before getting clean. Day, who is HIV positive, said he expects there are enough votes to override Romney's veto. He accused Healey of "fear-mongering" in an effort to derail the bill.

"I've got to say that I'm absolutely appalled and frightened as a citizen and as a registered voter of the Commonwealth that one of the candidates for the highest elected office in the Commonwealth stood before the media and stood before the public and fear-mongered her way into making you believe that this bill was a bad thing. ...This bill will save lives, and she totally dismissed that," said Day.

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