NJ Legislature OKs repeal of municipal approval for needle exchanges

By: Nicholas Katzban
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey

..... The New Jersey Legislature passed two bills aimed at tackling the state's opioid crisis by expanding access to clean syringes, addiction services and legalizing possession of intravenous needles.
..... One of the bills approved Monday [01/10/2022] removes the need for municipalities to pass an ordinance allowing a harm reduction service (commonly known as needle exchanges) to open in its borders.
..... "That's a hurdle no other services has," said Jenna Mellor, the executive director of New Jersey Harm Reduction Coalition, a grassroots group that advocates for compassionate anti-drug policies in the state.
..... "When you bring something before a town council, it can politicize something that shouldn't be politicized," she said of the current process.
..... Under the latest amendment, if singed by Governor Phil Murphy, application for new exchanges would be applied for with the state Department of Health, leaving the municipality only in control of the service's location through zoning approval.
..... But they would no longer be able to reject the service outright.
..... By the end of 2021, there were 3,200 overdoses in New Jersey, the highest annual tally in the state since former Governor Chris Christie officially recognized the issue in 2012 and vowed to tackle it head-on.
..... Currently, there are seven harm reduction centers in New Jersey that offer clean needles, safely dispose of used syringes and offer entangle test strips, as well as counselors who can guide addicts into recovery services.
..... More than 120 clinical providers, academics and recovering addicts wrote an open letter to lawmakers urging them to pass the bill, calling the current process "an undue and discriminatory barrier to health-care for our patients, clients, and neighbors."
..... along with the amendment to the application process, both houses of the legislature approved a bill to decriminalize the possession of syringes, even though it;s been legal to purchase up to 10 syringes at any pharmacy, a paradox Mellor was quick to point out.
..... In a release announcing the bills' passage, NJ harm Reduction Coalition cited the CDC, stating people with access to harm reduction services are less likely to die from a fatal overdose, five times more likely to enter a recovery program, three times more likely to "stop chaotic drug use" and 50% less likely to be infected with HIV or Hepatitis C than drug users without access to needle exchange programs.
..... "Our elected leaders have chosen the health and dignity of all of us - their constituents - over stigma and discrimination," stated Caitlin O'Neill, Director of Harm Reduction Services at the coalition.

Nicholas Katzban is a breaking news reporter for NorthJersey.com . To get breaking news directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter.
Email katzban@northjersey.com Twitter @nicholaskatzban

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