In my preceding post, I mentioned that Syringe Exchange Programs (SEP), which are commonly referred to as “needle exchange� programs, would be legalized under a bill currently pending in the New Jersey Legislature. The bill aims to legalize SEP for the purposes of reducing infection with HIV and other deadly diseases through needle sharing. This bill, sponsored by Senators Gill and Gormley, is titled the Bloodborne Disease Harm Reduction Act (S. 494).
The Gill/Gormley bill has several important effects. On a macro (state) level, it instructs the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services to develop regulations and requirements by which municipalities may operate SEP. Also established is the application process by which interested municipalities may request authorization to develop SEP. Finally, the Commissioner is directed to “support and facilitate…the linkage of SEP to…health care services, including mental health and substance abuse treatment, to consumers participating in any such program.�
While the Commissioner must develop regulations by which authorized SEPs operate, the bill also prescribes some specific requirements that SSAP must meet. More on these below.
Section 4b. of the bill details these specific requirements (upon which the Commissioner may expand), and here are some of the more important ones, by my judgment:
SEP must operate at no cost to the consumer
SEP deal only with consumers 18 years of age or older. Consumers under 18 are screened out and referred to appropriate substance abuse treatment programs for youth
SEP must preserve the confidentiality of consumers
SEP must provide to consumers information and referrals to HIV testing options, access to substance abuse treatment and any other relevant health/social services, as well as information/prevention materials about HIV, hepatitis C, and other pathogens
Section 4c. states that a municipality may terminate its SEP by ordinance. This essentially means that any municipality that finds its SEP to be ineffective or cumbersome can end that program through the normal political and legislative process.
Section 5 outlines reporting requirements for the Commissioner to report to the Governor and the Legislature on the status of SEP. Section 7 decriminalizes the possession of syringes associated with SEP as established by the bill.
As is apparent, the bill seeks not only to reduce transmission of disease through needle sharing, it also seeks to do so with a progressive, appropriate, treatment-and-prevention-oriented approach.
