Some Cities Find Ways to Beat Letter of Law

Despite statutes outlawing possession and distribution of hypodermic needles without a prescription, leaders in the nation’s largest cities have found creative ways to support needle exchange programs.

* San Francisco: Mayor Frank Jordan, who as the city’s former police chief upheld needle possession laws, declared a public health state of emergency March 15. This allowed him to launch a program to curb the spread of AIDS by distributing clean needles to drug users. His unprecedented action fulfills a campaign pledge but flies in the face of Gov. Pete Wilson’s veto of a bill that would have legalized such exchanges throughout the state.

* Chicago: With the blessing of the state’s attorney’s office and Chicago police, Chicago Recovery Alliance has been operating a needle exchange since 1992 under a provision of state law that allows the possession of hypodermic needles if used for research.

* New York City: Mayor David Dinkins, an early opponent of needle exchanges, reversed himself after seeing statistics from a Yale University study suggesting such programs could sharply cut HIV-infection rates. Using a waiver from the New York State Department of Health, Dinkins endorsed four new pilot programs last year to conduct needles exchanges on the street and from storefronts.

* Philadelphia: Health officials circumvented state law to create a needle-exchange program to stop the transmission of AIDS by drug users. Health Commissioner Robert Ross said the plan was made possible by the city’s Board of Health, which endorsed the program as “an emergency public health measure.”