Access to Clean Needles Must Be City Priority

by Beyond Chron (reposted)

Fri, Feb 11, 2005 8:07AM

Kudos to Supervisor Bevan Dufty for introducing enabling legislation that allows San Francisco to "opt-in" to newly effective state law which permits pharmacies to sell needles without a prescription. Unfortunately, the ordinance has had to sit through a 30 day rule waiting period, is just now scheduled under a new committee structure for a hearing, must go through a first and second reading at the full Board of Supervisors and then must wait for 30 more days lest it sustain a referendum challenge.

If the City can declare a public health emergency to implement needle exchange, then the Board of Supervisors can declare this legislation an emergency ordinance and put it on the fast track. Given the empirical data that shows that poor communities and communities of color are most at risk for HIV seroconversion, not to mention hepatitis B and C infections and other bloodborne transmissible nasties, it is incumbent that our legislative body give the same consideration to those marginalized communities as it does to gay white men when our health needs are considered.

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