THE SENATE                           S.C.R. NO.            46
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                    SENATE  CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION

  REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO CONVENE A TASK FORCE TO
    STUDY THE IMPLICATIONS OF INCREASED ACCESS TO STERILE
    SYRINGES FOR THE HEALTH OF THE CITIZENS OF HAWAII.


 1        WHEREAS, nationally, approximately one third of all AIDS
 2   cases, sixty percent of all new hepatitis C cases, and a
 3   significant portion of hepatitis B cases are directly or
 4   indirectly linked to illicit injection drug use; and
 5   
 6        WHEREAS, limited access to sterile syringes leads to
 7   sharing of injection equipment, resulting in the transmission
 8   of these blood-borne infections among injection drug users, the
 9   people with whom they have intimate relations, and their
10   babies; and
11   
12        WHEREAS, the United States Public Health Service
13   recommends that illicit drug users not inject, or, if unable to
14   abstain, use a new, sterile syringe obtained from a reliable
15   source, such as a pharmacy, for each injection; and
16   
17        WHEREAS, section 329-43.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS),
18   prohibits the use or possession of "drug paraphernalia" which
19   includes products of any kind used to inject controlled
20   substances, and inhibits pharmacies in Hawaii from selling
21   sterile needles and syringes; and
22   
23        WHEREAS, the Department of Health (DOH) has a sterile
24   needle and syringe exchange program, authorized as an exemption
25   from controlled substances law by sections 325-111 to 325-117,
26   HRS, that provides a one-to-one exchange for each used one; and
27   
28        WHEREAS, the American Medical Association, the American
29   Pharmaceutical Association, the Association of State and
30   Territorial Health Officials, and the National Alliance of
31   State and Territorial AIDS Directors have adopted resolutions
32   urging the removal or modification of legal barriers to the
33   availability of sterile syringes through pharmacies, for the
34   purpose of preventing transmission of deadly diseases; and
35   
36        WHEREAS, the legislature needs information, findings, and

 
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 1   recommendations from the Department of Health to determine
 2   whether or not it would be advisable to amend section 329-43.5,
 3   HRS, to allow pharmacies to sell sterile needles and syringes;
 4   now, therefore,
 5   
 6        BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twentieth Legislature
 7   of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2000, the House of
 8   Representatives concurring, that the Director of Health is
 9   requested to convene a task force to examine the health risks
10   to the public from lack of access to sterile syringes, the
11   availability and accessibility of sterile syringes in Hawaii,
12   and the feasibility of implementing national recommendations to
13   reduce transmission of HIV and hepatitis through increased
14   access to sterile syringes through pharmacy sales; and
15   
16        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force be composed of
17   interested parties, including the Director of Human Resources
18   Development, the Attorney General, the Director of Public
19   Safety, the Hawaii Pharmacists Association, the Hawaii Medical
20   Association, the Hawaii Chapter of the National Association of
21   Boards of Pharmacy, the Hawaii Law Enforcement Coalition, the
22   Governor's Committee on HIV/AIDS, and the Hawaii AIDS Community
23   Care Team; and
24    
25        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force submit findings
26   and recommendations to the legislature twenty days prior to the
27   convening of the 2001 Regular Session; and
28   
29        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
30   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health,
31   Director of Human Resources Development, the Attorney General,
32   the Director of Public Safety, the Hawaii Pharmacists
33   Association, the Hawaii Medical Association, the Hawaii Chapter
34   of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, the Hawaii
35   Law Enforcement Coalition, the Governor's Committee on
36   HIV/AIDS, and the Hawaii AIDS Community Care Team.
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40                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________