AEGiS-BAYW: Poll finds public opposed to needle bill

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Poll finds public opposed to needle bill

Bay Windows - July 13, 2006
Ethan Jacobs, ejacobs@baywindows.com

The July poll from State House News Service contained bad news for proponents of the pharmacy needle access bill, which would allow the sale of syringes in drug stores without a prescription and decriminalize possession of needles. The poll, conducted in late June, found that 66 percent of Bay Staters strongly oppose the bill, which HIV/AIDS advocates say would cut down the transmission of HIV among IV drug users.

Larry Day, AIDS Action's manager of community relations, said that he was unsurprised by the numbers, but he said they do not tell the whole story.

"If you ask somebody a yes-or-no question about pharmacy access, needle access, of course their answers are going to be no, because if you don't give them the background that's the typical answer," said Day. He said if someone is educated about the bill's impact on HIV transmission and the fact that Massachusetts is one of only three states that bans needle sales without a prescription, that person will be more likely to come around. He said he has seen this firsthand during his own advocacy on the bill.

Public opposition to the bill, which was vetoed by Gov. Mitt Romney, was widespread. The poll shows that while opposition is strongest among Republicans and high school graduates, opposition remained consistent across nearly every demographic. Yet despite that Day said he expects the Legislature to override Romney's veto.

"The governor hasn't had a good track record of being able to sustain his vetoes," said Day.

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