SENATE, No. 463

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

INTRODUCED JANUARY 18, 1996

 

 

By Senator LIPMAN

 

 

An Act establishing a demonstration needle and syringe exchange program in the Department of Health.

 

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

    1. The Legislature finds and declares that:

    a. Nationally, 32% of adult and adolescent AIDS cases are related to injection drug use and 60% of all children with AIDS are born to women who contracted AIDS through injected drug use or through sex with an injection drug user;

    b. In contrast, New Jersey, with the fifth highest number of AIDS cases of any state in the nation, attributes 54% of reported cases among adults and adolescents to injection drug use, well above the national average;

    c. It is estimated that 50% of injection drug users in New Jersey cities have AIDS or HIV;

    d. Women represent 11% of the AIDS cases nationwide, while in New Jersey they represent 23%, with approximately 60% of the women with AIDS or HIV being current or past users of injection drugs;

    e. New Jersey has the third highest number of pediatric AIDS cases of any state with an overwhelming majority, 95%, resulting from perinatal transmission from mother to fetus; and

    f. The established link between injection drug use and HIV in New Jersey and the findings of the United States General Accounting Office in its report on needle exchange programs that the risk of becoming HIV infected or transmitting the virus to others is diminished if needle sharing is reduced, has prompted the Department of Health, the Governor's Advisory Council on AIDS, the Medical Society of New Jersey and several nonprofit organizations serving people with HIV to express public support for a needle exchange program in New Jersey.

 

    2. a. The Commissioner of Health shall establish a demonstration needle and syringe exchange program. The purpose of the program is to reduce the spread of AIDS and HIV infection, as those terms are defined pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1989, c.303 (C.26:5C-5), by encouraging injection drug users to exchange used needles and syringes for sterile ones and by discouraging the sharing of injection equipment.

    b. The commissioner shall solicit proposals for demonstration projects from State-funded or nonprofit organizations providing drug treatment or AIDS services.

    c. Demonstration projects shall be selected based on the following criteria:

    (1) Incidence of injection drug use in the service area;

    (2) Incidence of AIDS and HIV infection in the service area; and

    (3) Availability of drug treatment services in the service area.

    d. A demonstration project shall not be funded unless the municipality in which the project is to be located has approved the project by a resolution of the municipal governing body. The municipality shall provide a certified copy of the resolution to the Department of Health.

 

    3. The program shall:

    a. provide free and anonymous exchange of needles and syringes and provide that a program participant shall receive an equal number of needles and syringes for those returned;

    b. require all needles and syringes distributed to be marked and checked for return rates;

    c. provide education on the transmission and prevention of AIDS and HIV infection; and

    d. provide assistance in obtaining drug abuse treatment, counseling and education.

 

    4. The program shall monitor and evaluate:

    a. return rates of needles and syringes distributed;

    b. behavioral changes of program participants, particularly with respect to needle sharing;

    c. the program's impact on the incidence of injection drug use, the frequency of injection and the rate of increase of new injection drug users; and

    d. program participation rates, including the number of participants who enter drug abuse treatment as a result of the program and the status of their treatment.

 

    5. The Commissioner of Health shall submit a report 18 months after the implementation of the demonstration program to the Governor, the Governor's Advisory Council on AIDS and the chairmen of the Senate and General Assembly standing reference committees on health on the effectiveness of the demonstration program.


    6. An exchange under the needle and syringe exchange program shall not constitute an offense pursuant to N.J.S.2C:36-2, N.J.S.2C:36-3, N.J.S.2C:36-6 or section 6 of P.L.1980, c.133 (C.24:21-51) for a participant in, or an employee or volunteer of the program.

 

    7. The Commissioner of Health shall, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), adopt rules and regulations necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act.

 

    8. This act shall take effect on the 60th day after enactment and shall expire three years thereafter.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

    This bill establishes a three-year demonstration needle and syringe exchange program through the Department of Health. The purpose of the program is to reduce the spread of AIDS and HIV infection by encouraging injection drug users to exchange used needles and syringes for sterile ones and by discouraging the sharing of injection equipment. The bill provides that the commissioner shall solicit proposals for demonstration projects from State-funded or nonprofit organizations providing drug treatment or AIDS services and shall provide grants necessary to achieve the purposes of the bill.

    The bill provides the following criteria on which the selection of demonstration projects will be based: (1) incidence of injection drug use; (2) incidence of AIDS and HIV infection; and (3) availability of drug treatment services. The use of these criteria will ensure that the demonstration projects will be sited in areas where the transmission of AIDS and HIV can be reduced and where there is a link to drug treatment services so that these services are readily available to injection drug users who wish to enter treatment.

    The bill requires that the needle and syringe exchange program: (1) provide free and anonymous exchange of needles and syringes; (2) require all needles and syringes distributed to be marked and checked for return rates; (3) provide education on the transmission and prevention of AIDS and HIV infection; and (4) provide assistance in obtaining drug abuse treatment, counseling and education.

    The bill also requires that the program compile research data to monitor (1) return rates of needles and syringes distributed; (2) behavioral changes of program participants, particularly with respect to needle sharing; (3) the impact this program has had on the incidence of injection drug use, the frequency of injection and the rate of increase of new injection drug users; and (4) program participation rates, including the number of participants who enter drug abuse treatment as a result of the program and the status of their treatment.

    The bill also provides that an exchange under the program shall not constitute an offense pursuant to N.J.S.2C:36-2 (use of drug paraphernalia), N.J.S.2C:36-3 (distribution of drug paraphernalia), N.J.S.2C:36-6 (distribution of hypodermic syringe or needle) or section 6 of P.L.1980, c.133 (C.24:21-51) (distribution of hypodermic syringe or needle) for participants, employees or volunteers of the program.

 

 

                             

 

Establishes demonstration needle and syringe exchange program through DOH.