Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1992. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
San Francisco Chronicle - Tuesday, August 25, 1992
The measure by Assembly Speaker Willie Brown, D-San Francisco, passed the upper house by a 21 to 15 vote, the bare majority needed for approval by the 40-seat Senate.
It now goes to the Assembly for a vote on Senate amendments. Approval there would send the measure to Governor Wilson.
Last month, the Senate rejected the bill by four votes.
The bill would require the state Department of Health Services to authorize a three-year needle exchange program in San Francisco if requested by local officials.
Department officials could also authorize similar programs in other parts of the state.
Brown said the bill could help slow the spread of the AIDS virus by providing drug addicts with an alternative to sharing hypodermic needles.
"Studies of well-run needle exchange programs have clearly shown that they lower the HIV infection rate from dirty needles and encourage large numbers of drug users to seek treatment," Brown said.
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