San Mateo County's Board of Supervisors has approved a resolution to allow pharmacies to sell up to 10 hypodermic needles at a time to buyers without prescriptions. The county was able to authorize licensed pharmacists to sell unprescribed needles through the end of 2010 by the Disease Prevention Demonstration Project, created by a new provision of the state Business and Professions Code.

The county Board of Supervisors established its Needle Exchange Task Force in 2001 to address the issue of HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C contracted through dirty needle use. The local task force determined four priorities: "minimizing barriers to accessing clean needles and syringes, maximizing access to clean needles and syringes both by geographic locations and time, maximizing collection of used needles, and using needle exchange as a conduit to support services and ultimate recovery." The task force said 116,631 needles were exchanged in the 2004-2005 fiscal year.

Currently, clean needles are delivered to people's homes through two local groups, Free at Last in East Palo Alto and AIDS Prevention Action Network in Redwood City.

County Health Officer Dr. Scott Morrow noted that while needles cost 5-10 cents to make, pharmacies will be selling them for $1-$2 apiece. Morrow said pharmacies will not be required to sell needles under the new ruling, but in San Francisco, which has a similar program, most of the major chain pharmacies do. Pharmacies must be registered with Demonstration Project to participate. San Mateo County health department officials expect the program to be in operation by year's end.

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