BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  AB 1701|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 1701
          Author:   Chesbro (D)
          Amended:  8/2/10 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE  :  6-1, 6/23/10
          AYES:  Alquist, Cedillo, Leno, Negrete McLeod, Pavley,  
            Romero
          NOES:  Aanestad
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Strickland, Cox

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  49-27, 4/5/10 - See last page for vote


          SUBJECT  :    Hypodermic needles and syringes

           SOURCE  :     Health Officers Association of California


           DIGEST  :    This bill extends, until December 31, 2018, the  
          Disease Prevention Demonstration Project, which permits  
          cities or counties to authorize licensed pharmacists to  
          sell or furnish 10 or fewer hypodermic needles or syringes  
          to a person for use without a prescription, as specified.

          ANALYSIS  :    

           Existing law
           
          1. Regulates the sale, possession, and disposal of  
             hypodermic needles and syringes; and requires a  
             prescription to purchase a hypodermic needle or syringe  
                                                           CONTINUED





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             for human use, except to administer adrenaline or  
             insulin.

          2. Permits a city or county to authorize a licensed  
             pharmacist to sell or furnish 10 or fewer hypodermic  
             needles or syringes to a person for human use without a  
             prescription if the pharmacy is registered with a local  
             health department (LHD) in the Disease Prevention  
             Demonstration Project (DPDP) until December 31, 2010. 

          3. Prohibits the possession and sale of drug paraphernalia;  
             but until December 31, 2010, allows a person, if  
             authorized by a city or county, to possess 10 or fewer  
             hypodermic needles or syringes if acquired through an  
             authorized source. 

          This bill:

          1. Extends until December 31, 2018, the sunset date for the  
             DPDP, under which a city or county is permitted to  
             authorize a licensed pharmacist to sell or furnish 10 or  
             fewer hypodermic needles or syringes to a person for use  
             without a prescription if the pharmacy is registered  
             with a LHD. 

          2. Extends until December 31, 2018, the sunset date in  
             current law that permits a person, with authorization by  
             a city or county, to possess 10 or fewer hypodermic  
             needles or syringes if acquired through an authorized  
             source. 

           Background
           
          Injection drug use (IDU) is the second leading cause of HIV  
          transmission and the leading cause of the hepatitis C virus  
          (HCV) in California. According to the California Department  
          of Public Health's (DPH) Office of AIDS, in 2009 IDU was  
          associated with 19 percent of the 190,000 reported HIV/AIDS  
          cases, and it is estimated that approximately 750 new HIV  
          infections may be attributed to IDU each year.  The link  
          between IDU and HIV transmission is particularly strong for  
          women and minorities.  It is also estimated that at least  
          60 percent of prevalent cases of HCV infection are  
          associated with IDU.  In 2008, 36 acute HCV infections and  







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          69,519 unique chronic HCV cases were reported in  
          California, and HCV-related deaths in the state more than  
          doubled from 503 in 1995 to 1,195 in 2004. 

          Public health experts, including the Centers for Disease  
          Control and Prevention, have identified access to sterile  
          syringes as one component of a comprehensive HIV prevention  
          strategy designed to reduce HIV transmission among IDUs.   
          In the last ten years, a number of national organizations  
          have endorsed deregulation to allow IDUs to purchase and  
          posses syringes and needles without a prescription,  
          including the American Medical Association, the American  
          Pharmaceutical Association, the National Association of  
          Boards of Pharmacy, the National Alliance of State and  
          Territorial AIDS Directors, and the Association of State  
          and Territorial Health Officials.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  No    
          Local:  No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  8/2/10)

          Health Officers Association of California (source)
          AIDS Project Los Angeles
          California Psychiatric Association
          County Health Executives Association of California
          Drug Policy Alliance 
          San Luis Obispo County Health Officer
          Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
          Santa Clara County Health Officer
          Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency 

           OPPOSITION  :    (Verified  8/2/10)

          California Correctional Supervisors Organization 
          California Narcotic Officers Association 

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    The Health Officers Association of  
          California, the sponsor of this bill, writes that this bill  
          protects public health without sacrificing public safety as  
          numerous scientific studies have found that safe access to  
          syringes does not lead to increased drug use.  The County  
          Health Executives Association of California states that  
          allowing DPDP to continue will likely continue to reduce  







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          the number of new infections across the state.  AIDS  
          Project Los Angeles writes that a 2001 study of 96 U.S.  
          cities found that the rate of HIV among IDUs was twice as  
          high in the cities that prohibited the sale of syringes  
          without a prescription compared to cities that did not have  
          such a prohibition.  The Santa Clara County Board of  
          Supervisors states that this bill is an appropriate  
          response to a genuine public health threat and complements  
          existing harm reduction programs that seek to reduce the  
          use of dirty needles, such as their County's needle  
          exchange program.  The Drug Policy Alliance writes that  
          allowing adults to purchase sterile syringes without a  
          prescription at community pharmacies is a sound public  
          health strategy endorsed by virtually every major health  
          organization, including the American Medical Association,  
          Institute of Medicine, American Pharmacists Association,  
          and the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS  
          Directors.

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  : 
          AYES:  Adams, Ammiano, Arambula, Bass, Beall, Block,  
            Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero,  
            Carter, Chesbro, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, Eng,  
            Evans, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Galgiani, Hall, Hayashi,  
            Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jones, Lieu, Bonnie  
            Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Monning, Nava, V. Manuel Perez,  
            Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Skinner, Solorio,  
            Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Yamada, John A.  
            Perez
          NOES:  Anderson, Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Conway,  
            Cook, DeVore, Emmerson, Fletcher, Fuller, Gaines,  
            Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Harkey, Jeffries, Knight,  
            Logue, Miller, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, Norby, Silva,  
            Smyth, Audra Strickland, Tran, Villines
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Blakeslee, Charles Calderon, Furutani,  
            Vacancy


          CTW:do  8/2/10   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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