Aragon R, Dillon F, Christen P; International Conference on AIDS.

Int Conf AIDS. 2000 Jul 9-14; 13: abstract no. TuPpE1285.

P. Christen, San Francisco AIDS Foundation, 995 Market St., Ste. 200, San Francisco, CA 94103, United States, Tel.: +1 415/487 30 80, Fax: +1 415/487 30 89, E-mail: fdillon@sfaf.org

Issues: California law prohibits furnishing of drug paraphernalia, including syringes, by any person who should reasonably know that it will be used with controlled substances. The impact of this law is restricted access to syringes and a disincentive to the possession of syringes, both of which contribute to increased needle sharing and risk of HIV transmission among injection drug users. Fear of criminal prosecution also contributes to health officials' and philanthropic organizations' reluctance to support underground programs, most of which operate on meager budgets. Project: Since 1993, the state Legislature has passed three bills to legalize needle exchange, all of which were vetoed by the Governor, who argued that the programs send the wrong message to drug users and children. In 1999, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF) sponsored a similar bill, which the new Governor initially opposed. In addition to promoting the scientific evidence regarding the efficacy of such programs, SFAF also engaged in an aggressive media advocacy campaign and commissioned an independent public opinion poll. In a six-week period, SFAF secured editorials in all but one of the states' major newspapers. The poll showed that 69% of Californians surveyed, including the majority of registered voters, and those who self-identify as "moderately conservative" or "middle-of-the-road" support syringe exchange. These results demonstrated widespread public support, thereby convincing the Governor to sign a compromise bill. Nine local communities have since used the law to legalize syringe exchange. Conclusion: In addition to relying upon scientific evidence regarding the efficacy of syringe exchange, community advocates can utilize other public opinion tools, such as editorials and polling research, to demonstrate public support for controversial programs that lack sufficient support among elected officials.

Publication Types:

• Meeting Abstracts

Keywords:

• Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
• California
• Child
• Data Collection
• HIV Infections
• HIV Seropositivity
• Humans
• Legislation
• Needle Sharing
• San Francisco
• Substance-Related Disorders
• Syringes
• utilization

Other ID:

• GWAIDS0002454

UI: 102239948

From Meeting Abstracts