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N.J. Poised to Vote on Needle Bill

New Jersey is the only U.S. state that still bans the distribution of clean needles by government programs to prevent the spread of AIDS among drug users, but lawmakers may vote to change that next week, the New York Times reported Sept. 25.

Four in 10 HIV cases in New Jersey are linked to injecting drugs using dirty needles, and after 14 years of trying, supporters of a needle-exchange bill in the state legislature finally think they have the votes they need for passage. Gov. Jon S. Corzine already has pledged to sign the legislation if it passes the legislature.

Opponents of needle exchange include state Sen. Thomas H. Kean Jr., who is currently running as a Republican for the U.S. Senate, and state Sen. Ronald L. Rice, who compares the programs to the infamous Alabama experiments where black prisoners were intentionally infected with syphilis. "Those who want a syringe-access program are saying that it's O.K. for drug users to continue using drugs and kill themselves because it's cheaper for the government," said Rice.

But backers of needle exchanges say that lawmakers like Rice are responsible for the preventable illness and deaths of countless state residents. New Jersey has the nation's highest HIV rate among women, and the third-highest among children.

"If there were any other cause of hundreds of deaths of children, thousands of deaths of women and the orphaning of tens of thousands of children -- our legislature would act on an emergency basis to reduce that cause," said bill sponsor Sen. Nia H. Gill.

The legislation slated for a vote next week would allow pilot needle-exchange programs in six New Jersey cities, as well as authorizing $10 million for drug treatment.

Johnny Brown of the Camden Area Health Education Center works directly with IV-drug users. "When they take part in needle exchange, it means they're starting to take an interest in their health," Brown said. "That's the first step."

"Summer," a Camden prostitute, scoffed at the idea that needle exchanges would promote drug use. "Users are going to use anyway," she said. "But you'd have less people infected with HIV, hepatitis."

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