HOUSE VOTES TO ALLOW SALE OF SYRINGES

Foes See State Encouraging Use Of Drugs

The Massachusetts House voted yesterday to legalize over-the-counter
sale of hypodermic needles to curb the spread of HIV and other
blood-borne infections, potentially setting up a political showdown
with Governor Mitt Romney over whether the bill will save lives or
promote drug use.

The controversial measure, which would bring Massachusetts in line
with 47 other states that allow syringes to be sold without a
prescription, has long been championed by public health advocates,
infectious disease doctors, and substance abuse specialists, who
argue that it would vastly reduce incidence of AIDS, hepatitis C, and
other diseases spread through the sharing of needles.

"This legislation is long overdue in this Commonwealth,"
Representative Peter J. Koutoujian, a Waltham Democrat and lead
sponsor of the bill, said on the House floor. "As soon as this
legislation passes, it will save lives."

But it drew opposition from several-dozen other lawmakers, who said
the change in state law would essentially encourage people to use
drugs by making it easy for them to purchase needles at drugstores
across the state.

The House passed the measure, 115-37, after almost three hours of
passionate debate. It now goes to the Senate.

Representatives of Senate President Robert E. Travaglini's office
could not be reached for comment last night.

But Senator Susan C. Fargo, a Lincoln Democrat and cochairwoman of
the Joint Committee on Public Health, said she's optimistic her
colleagues in the Senate will approve the bill.

"I don't think people should be afraid of it," she said. "I am
delighted it's moving forward."

The state Department of Public Health backs the bill, but Romney does
not, saying he believes that allowing access to needles will
facilitate drug use by addicts.

Romney spokeswoman Julie Teer declined to say whether the governor
would veto the measure if it reaches his office.

"The governor has expressed his opposition to the legislation," Teer
said in an e-mail. "When the bill reaches his desk, he will give it a
full review."

The bill would allow anyone 18 or older to purchase a syringe from a
pharmacy without a prescription.

It also would decriminalize possession of a hypodermic needle, which
is a misdemeanor, and require pharmacists to hand out information
about treatment programs and about proper use and disposal of
syringes to needle-buyers.

Supporters cited a litany of statistics in making their case.
Koutoujian said that more than 39 percent of all people living with
HIV or AIDS in Massachusetts were infected because they or their
partners used a dirty needle.

The state has the ninth-highest rate of AIDS infection by needle use
in the country, he said.

Supporters, who included several House Republicans, acknowledged
during yesterday's debate that the bill would not solve the problem
of drug abuse in Massachusetts, which is particularly acute in urban
neighborhoods such as Charlestown and South Boston where heroin use is high.

But the supporters framed the legislation as one important way to
address a public health issue that affects not just drug users but
their partners, family members, and others in their communities.

"I don't know what the answer is to the war on drugs, but I do know
one thing," said Representative Eugene L. O'Flaherty, a Chelsea
Democrat. "If one person can be saved by not getting hepatitis or not
getting AIDS . . . that's a pretty positive message to send."

O'Flaherty, who spoke at length yesterday about drug abuse in
neighborhoods he represents, was one of several lawmakers who said
they initially had reservations about legalizing needles sales, but
had been swayed after seeing firsthand how disease spread by
intravenous drug use has ravaged lives in their districts.

Representative Brian P. Wallace, a Boston Democrat, explained that
three years ago he would have thrown someone out of his office who
suggested the state needed the bill. "Well, we do need it," he said
yesterday. "The kids who are dying in my community need it."

The bill is also backed by four district attorneys, including Martha
Coakley of Middlesex County and Daniel F. Conley of Suffolk County,
who testified at a legislative hearing in the spring.

A representative of Boston Police Commissioner Kathleen M. O'Toole
also testified in support of the bill.

Opponents said yesterday that the House was making a grave misjudgment.

"I cannot believe that the people in Massachusetts are listening to
this garbage that is being touted at this microphone," said
Representative Philip Travis, a Rehoboth Democrat, arguing that the
Legislature is effectively sanctioning drug use. "My God, what does
this say to the young people?"

An answer was proposed by Representative Elizabeth Poirier.

"I wonder what kind of message we're sending to 18-year-olds and
older, that it is illegal to use drugs, but it's perfectly all right
to go in and buy a clean needle with which to do it?" said Poirier, a
North Attleborough Republican. "I think this is one of the most
convoluted things I've ever heard."

But supporters say that every state but New Jersey and Delaware has
passed a similar law and that studies have shown a drop in
transmission of disease by needles. Connecticut and Rhode Island, for
example, both saw transmission decline significantly in the years
after they enacted similar legislation, according to Koutoujian's office.

A few communities in the state, including Boston and Cambridge, have
adopted needle-exchange programs to combat the spread of disease, but
supporters of the House bill argue the problem requires a statewide solution.