‘Clean needles’ proposal in A.I.D.S. fight

Press, 15 January 1986, Page 4

‘Clean needles’ proposal in A.I.D.S. fight

PA Wellington Needles and syringes could be-made more readily available to drug addicts if an A.I.D.S. Advisory Committee proposal is accepted by the Health Department. Needle sharing is becoming a main cause of A.I.D.S. transmission overseas. To stop the problem before it starts in New Zealand, drug treatment experts have suggested making clean needles easier to obtain.

The Health Department has written to the Justice Department to clarify the legal position. At present it is against the law to possess needles and syringes for the purpose of administering drugs. “We face a dilemma in that we want to do all we can to prevent the spread of AI.D.S., but we don’t want to be seen to be encouraging illegality or drug abuse,” said a Health Department spokesman, Dr John Holden. The “clean needle” proposal is the result of a recommendation to the

A.I.D.S. Advisory Committee by the Wellington Alcohol and Drug Dependence Centre’s co-ordinator, Mr Neil Thornton, and \ the medical director, Dr Geoffrey Robinson. “It’s time now to consider it seriously,” Mr Thornton said. “There might have to be a change in the law, but that is not a huge impediment.”

Needles and syringes could be made available from selected chemists, he said. Similar schemes had been implemented in .Australia and Western Europe, The A.I.D.S. Foundation chairman, Ms Kato Leslie, said she supported the idea, , even though it created* potential conflict for public health administrators. “We really want to get across to people the idea that they should use clean equipment and should not share,” she said. • The police declined to comment on the proposal, which they said was a matter for the Health Department.