AIDS and Needle Exchange Program

by: Media In Trouble

Thu Dec 01, 2005 at 02:51:01 PM EST

Happy World AIDS Day everybody. Every minute of every day 5 people die from AIDS/HIV. There is no cure but there are rather expensive drugs for treating the disease. As a result, prevention continues to be the preferred method of combating the disease.

Where do NJ AIDS statistics stand?:

In NJ nearly half of all new HIV cases in the state are related to injection drug use, nearly twice the national average, New Jersey is one of only five states that require a prescription to purchase a syringe and, along with neighboring Delaware, one of only two states that have not passed laws explicitly allowing needle exchange programs (NEPs).

CONGRATULATIONS! We are in the minority and presumably some really "red states" are included in the 45 and 48 other states that have agreed that statistics on Needle Exchange are pretty solid.

Media In Trouble :: AIDS and Needle Exchange Program

As the article suggests our hero Nia Gill has proposed legislation to allow municipalities to run their own NEP. There are actually two bills, Sen. Gill's Bill is A3256 and Senator Joe Vitale's A3257.

Interestingly enough. Both have been stalled in the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens committee chaired by none other than Sen. Joseph Vitale.

Now there is some backroom chatter that say that Sen. Ronald Rice has been the thorn in this Bill's side. Ronald Rice happens to represent Newark (which happens to be #9 in the country in AIDS cases, and if you take the population into account it is easily #1 per capita).

This is rather sickening. You have the representative of a constituency that will drastically benefit from either bill, holding up that legislation. Even worse, one of the pieces of legislation is sponsored by THE CHAIR OF THE COMMITTEE?!?! Only in the land of Superfunds could this happen.

This is plain and simply WRONG. Both bills have passed in the Assembly. One man is ruining the fate of thousands of people. Write Chairman Vitale and tell him to get the sack to stand up to Ron Rice and Sleezy Sharpe James and get both these bills out of committee and onto the Senate floor for a vote. It has passed the Assembly and deserves a Senate vote dammit.

Joseph Vitale
87 Main St.
Woodbridge, NJ 07095
PHONE:(732) 855-7441

After that call Ron Rice and give him a piece of your mind:

1044 South Orange Ave.
Newark, NJ 07106
PHONE:(973) 371-5665

UPDATE: From Pocketaces in the comments, Vitale isn't the bad guy in this. Ron Rice is.
Also, perhaps Diane Allen (LD-7, 609-239-2800) and Robert Singer (LD-30, 732-907-0702) could be more easily persuaded to go above Ron Rice's head on this one.

As always cross posted at Media In Trouble

Tags: Ronald Rice, Joseph Vitale, Nia Gill, needle exchange, AIDS, (All Tags)

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AIDS and Needle Exchange Program | 1 comments

Your analysis of the Senate situation is way off (0.00 / 0)

"Write Chairman Vitale and tell him to get the sack to stand up to Ron Rice and Sleezy Sharpe James and get both these bills out of committee and onto the Senate floor for a vote."

You are way off with your attack on Joe Vitale - he's one of the genuine good guys in the State Senate who never backs down from a fight - in fact, he and Rice have already exchanged words over the needle exchange bill. The simple fact of the matter is that there are not enough votes in the Senate Health Committee to move the bill. The committee has 8 members - 5 Democrats and 3 Republicans - so it needs 5 votes to get out of committee and none of the Republicans are helping it along. Vitale could post it every committee meeting from now until the end of the world - it ain't moving out of that committee with its current membership.

As for calling Rice's office and trying to use public pressure to get him to change his mind - good luck with that one. The man is not one to let public opinion change his mind, especially when it comes from people from outside his district. He's a man with rock solid convictions who forms his opinions based on what he thinks is best for his constituents. As a former cop, he sees drug abuse and the gang and poverty problems it brings to inner city Newark as a bigger threat than HIV. He's completely wrong - but he'll argue you until you're blue in the face that he's right - frustrating when he disagrees with you but reassuring when he's on your side.

So rather than stoning our champion in the cause or beating our fists against a brick wall, how about you starting working on the Republicans on the committee. Tom Kean, Jr. is a no-go, since he's partners in crime with Rice in opposing this. But Diane Allen (LD-7, 609-239-2800) and Robert Singer (LD-30, 732-907-0702) might be more susceptible to a public support campaign. And you can always offer your help to Senators Vitale or Gill in helping them get their bills passed.

by: PocketAces @ Thu Dec 01, 2005 at 16:47:22 PM CST