Delaware News

General Assembly Passes Legislation Expanding Needle and Syringe Exchange

Former Governor Jack Markell (2009-2017) | Office of the Governor | Date Posted: Thursday, June 30, 2016



Approves initiative proposed in Governor’s State of the State Address

Dover, DE – Governor Markell issued the following statement applauding the General Assembly’s passage of legislation expanding the Syringe Exchange Program.

Senate Bill 259 authorizes the Division of Public Health (DPH) to expand the program statewide to help reduce the sharing of potentially infected needles and supports the state’s larger efforts to address opioid addiction and HIV transmission.

“Expanding this program statewide will help protect IV drug users from infections, prevent HIV transmission, and will hopefully motivate individuals struggling with drug addiction to get the help they need.” Governor Markell said. “Thank you to the members of the General Assembly for realizing the positive impact this expanded program will have on our citizens and our communities.”

This legislation would build on substantial progress the state has made in increasing access to key substance abuse treatments. More information on those efforts can be found here.

“While our ultimate goal must continue to be securing addiction treatment for the Delawareans who need it most, we must do whatever we can to ensure that IV drug users are not putting themselves or the public at further risk by using contaminated needles,” said Senate Majority Whip Margaret Rose Henry. “Like drug use, diseases like HIV and hepatitis disproportionally impact low-income and minority populations and we have a moral responsibility to take these sorts of prudent measures to stop the spread of these devastating diseases.”

“During the past decade, we have seen the needle exchange program have a positive impact in the City of Wilmington by reducing the spread of HIV infections and other diseases that can be transmitted through a used needle. It also has helped connect people to various services and resources to reduce drug use,” said Rep. Helene Keeley, who sponsored the original needle exchange bill in 2006. “However, intravenous drug use is not just a problem in Wilmington; it’s a concern throughout our state. Expanding this successful program throughout Delaware will hopefully have the same benefits up and down the state that it has had in the city, reducing the spread of diseases and connecting people to the services they need to combat drug use.”

“We have long been supporters of needle exchange programs because they work in preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS,” said Peter Houle, executive director of the Delaware HIV Consortium, one of the state’s largest providers of services to people with HIV/AIDS. “We helped form the coalition that pushed through Delaware’s first effort at needle exchange. We support expansion of the program to serve all three counties in Delaware effectively. Since the recent surge in the use of heroin began, we have been hoping for expansion of the clean needle exchange program – it’s just good public health policy that will save lives.”

image_printPrint


Graphic that represents delaware news on a mobile phone

Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.

Here you can subscribe to future news updates.

General Assembly Passes Legislation Expanding Needle and Syringe Exchange

Former Governor Jack Markell (2009-2017) | Office of the Governor | Date Posted: Thursday, June 30, 2016



Approves initiative proposed in Governor’s State of the State Address

Dover, DE – Governor Markell issued the following statement applauding the General Assembly’s passage of legislation expanding the Syringe Exchange Program.

Senate Bill 259 authorizes the Division of Public Health (DPH) to expand the program statewide to help reduce the sharing of potentially infected needles and supports the state’s larger efforts to address opioid addiction and HIV transmission.

“Expanding this program statewide will help protect IV drug users from infections, prevent HIV transmission, and will hopefully motivate individuals struggling with drug addiction to get the help they need.” Governor Markell said. “Thank you to the members of the General Assembly for realizing the positive impact this expanded program will have on our citizens and our communities.”

This legislation would build on substantial progress the state has made in increasing access to key substance abuse treatments. More information on those efforts can be found here.

“While our ultimate goal must continue to be securing addiction treatment for the Delawareans who need it most, we must do whatever we can to ensure that IV drug users are not putting themselves or the public at further risk by using contaminated needles,” said Senate Majority Whip Margaret Rose Henry. “Like drug use, diseases like HIV and hepatitis disproportionally impact low-income and minority populations and we have a moral responsibility to take these sorts of prudent measures to stop the spread of these devastating diseases.”

“During the past decade, we have seen the needle exchange program have a positive impact in the City of Wilmington by reducing the spread of HIV infections and other diseases that can be transmitted through a used needle. It also has helped connect people to various services and resources to reduce drug use,” said Rep. Helene Keeley, who sponsored the original needle exchange bill in 2006. “However, intravenous drug use is not just a problem in Wilmington; it’s a concern throughout our state. Expanding this successful program throughout Delaware will hopefully have the same benefits up and down the state that it has had in the city, reducing the spread of diseases and connecting people to the services they need to combat drug use.”

“We have long been supporters of needle exchange programs because they work in preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS,” said Peter Houle, executive director of the Delaware HIV Consortium, one of the state’s largest providers of services to people with HIV/AIDS. “We helped form the coalition that pushed through Delaware’s first effort at needle exchange. We support expansion of the program to serve all three counties in Delaware effectively. Since the recent surge in the use of heroin began, we have been hoping for expansion of the clean needle exchange program – it’s just good public health policy that will save lives.”

image_printPrint


Graphic that represents delaware news on a mobile phone

Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.

Here you can subscribe to future news updates.