A notice from CA Office of AIDS, new syringe exchange / access legislation -

[pinto]

Very positive advancements for state wide harm reduction efforts. Two thumbsup. ~ pinto

Assembly Bill 1743 (Ting) was signed by the Governor on Monday and will go into effect January 1. The bill removes all limits on the number of syringes individuals can possess and the number that pharmacists can sell.

Drug Policy Alliance and SF AIDS Foundation have been running legislation that chips away at the barriers to nonprescription pharmacy sale of syringes for years. Many, many people have worked on this issue, from health department staff who enrolled the first pharmacies in the 2005 pilot, the researchers who evaluated the pilot and returned a massive report to the Governor’s office, to the needle exchange volunteers who continue to cold-call local pharmacies to get them on board.

Also signed on Monday was AB 1535 (Bloom). It will allow pharmacists to furnish naloxone without a prescription according to guidelines to be developed by the boards of pharmacy and medicine.

The San Francisco AETC ( https://aetcnec.ucsf.edu/about-us ) is working on a webinar series on nonprescription syringe sale for pharmacists. The first in the series is scheduled for December 3. The State Office of AIDS is working on updated fact sheets for customers, pharmacies and law enforcement.

Alessandra Ross
Injection Drug Use Specialist
California Department of Public Health, Office of AIDS

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Kudos to all involved in getting this done! n/t