Massachusetts: New Hope for Needle Exchange

A bill introduced in Congress, HR 179, would lift a 1988 ban on using federal funds to support needle-exchange programs (NEPs). Known as the Community AIDS and Hepatitis Prevention Act, the measure was introduced by Rep. Jose Serrano (D-N.Y.) and is now before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. So far, the bill has 62 co-sponsors, all Democrats.

Many activists are hopeful the bill will become law. "I know people are pretty optimistic this year, based on the fact that the president has signaled he supports [NEPs]," said Tim Purington, who runs the NEP for Tapestry Health in Northampton. The NEP's $200,000 budget, which is provided entirely by the state, was cut by $12,500 for the rest of this fiscal year, and Purington said he would not be surprised to see more money slashed next year.

Purington hopes the NEP's financial footing will improve if HR 179 becomes law. "One of the nice things about federal funding is it's much more stable," he said. "You don't have all the peaks and valleys you do in state funding."

Still, Purington noted that while federal money would boost the NEP in Northampton, "it wouldn't magically allow us to implement [NEPs] in Springfield and Holyoke." Massachusetts law stipulates that an NEP can only be established with local approval -- and so far those two cities, along with others experiencing high rates of drug use and HIV infections -- have not granted their consent.

In Holyoke, where Purington serves as a city councilor, he said "there's no political will" to establish an NEP. The Springfield City Council has consistently opposed the idea of an NEP, though Purington holds out hope this could change when the council adds new ward representatives this fall.

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