Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1996. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
San Francisco Chronicle - The Voice of the West, 901 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94119 - Friday, May 24, 1996 - Page A23
Greg Lucas, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau
Kopp, an independent, has voted against such programs in the past because he says they create a "confusing" double standard.
"I don't believe if you violate drug laws we should assist you," he said in an interview.
The bill voted down yesterday, authored by Senator Diane Watson, D-Los Angeles, was the same as previous needle exchange bills.
All would have allowed the state to authorize a pilot needle exchange program in San Francisco and other cities that wanted one. It would permit city authorities to hand out sterile needles to drug addicts, which reduces needle sharing that can transmit HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
Watson's bill was defeated by the 40-member Senate on a 16-to-18 vote. She needed 21 votes for passage.
The Legislature has passed other needle exchange laws, including one by former Assembly Speaker Willie Brown. All have been vetoed by Governor Pete Wilson, who shares Kopp's view that giving needles to addicts sends the wrong message to California's youths.
Action on the bill comes after Santa Clara County supervisors voted 4-to-1 to end public funding for their 2-year-old program after being threatened with a lawsuit by Republican Attorney General Dan Lungren.
In an opinion published last year, Lungren -- considered a candidate for governor -- said government participation in such exchanges is illegal.
Officials from Lungren's office visited Santa Clara County recently and warned that a lawsuit would be filed if the program were not stopped.
Brown, now San Francisco's mayor, vowed Tuesday, lawsuit or no, that San Francisco will continue its needle exchange program, which receives $220,000 for supplies each year from the city.
The volunteer effort dispenses 40,000 free needles a week.
Opponents of Watson's bill used Brown's defiance as an argument to vote against the measure.
"He's going to do it anyway, so why pass a law?" asked Senator Ross Johnson, R-Newport Beach.
The Senate gave Watson another chance to win passage next week.
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