Pubdate: Thu, 29 Nov 2007
Source: Press of Atlantic City, The (NJ)
Copyright: 2007 South Jersey Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/29
Author: Pete McAleer, Statehouse Bureau
Cited: http://www.drugpolicy.org/about/stateoffices/newjersey/
Cited: South Jersey AIDS Alliance http://www.southjerseyaidsalliance.org
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?137 (Needle Exchange)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?136 (Methadone)

NEEDLE EXCHANGE SMOOTH IN ATLANTIC CITY

Atlantic City quietly began its first legal needle-exchange program 
Tuesday, becoming the first city in New Jersey to take part in a 
pilot program aimed at reducing the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

The first day of Atlantic City's needle-exchange program saw 20 
people register and turn in used needles for clean ones at the Oasis 
Drop-In Center on South Tennessee Avenue, according to Roseanne 
Scotti, director of Drug Policy Alliance New Jersey, an organization 
that lobbied for years for needle-exchange programs in New Jersey.

The Oasis center, operated by the South Jersey Aids Alliance, already 
provides free HIV counseling and testing, drug-treatment referrals 
and other social services. A methadone clinic is located across the street.

Those who registered Tuesday and Wednesday were given 10 clean 
needles plus one additional clean needle for every used needle they 
turned in. To register, participants answered basic demographic 
questions and questions about their history of HIV testing and drug 
treatment. They also were assigned an identification number, and 
after six months will be asked other questions, such as whether they 
are still sharing needles with others and whether they have sought 
drug addiction treatment.

"It was very smooth," Scotti said after witnessing the first day of 
needle exchange in Atlantic City. "There were no problems. There 
never are. But people were amazed, coming in and saying, 'They tell 
us we can get clean needles here.'"

The needle-exchange program will operate three days per week, from 
Tuesday to Thursday.

Atlantic City and three other municipalities - Camden, Newark and 
Paterson - were given the authority to distribute clean needles 
without a prescription under a December 2006 law signed by Gov. Jon 
S. Corzine. Camden is expected to start its program in January. 
Newark and Paterson expect to start soon after.

Atlantic City officials have been advocating the legalization of 
needle exchange for years, viewing the program as an important health 
tool in a city where one in 31 black males lives with HIV or AIDS. In 
June 2004, the City Council became the first governing body in the 
state to pass an ordinance approving needle-exchange programs, but 
the ordinance was struck down in court three months later.

"For years, the best evidence from around the world has told us this 
is what we should be doing to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, but our 
hands were tied," said Ronald Cash, Director of Health and Human 
Services for Atlantic City. "This year we truly have something to 
celebrate in New Jersey for World AIDS Day."

Newly appointed Atlantic City Mayor Scott Evans spoke generally 
Wednesday night about his support of the program, having not been 
briefed on it yet.

"I think it's a big issue that we can help combat with this program," 
he said. "It's a program we just have to monitor and keep an eye on 
and constantly reevaluate."

The Drug Policy Alliance of New Jersey continues to lobby for a law 
that would allow for the pharmaceutical sale of syringes without a 
prescription. New Jersey is one of only three states to require a 
prescription to purchase a syringe in a pharmacy.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake