New needle exchange bill vetoed

Legislation to make it easier for California cities and counties to develop needle-exchange programs for intravenous drug users was vetoed Saturday by Gov. Gray Davis.

With more than 200 bills awaiting action this weekend, Davis signed nine measures and vetoed five, including the needle-exchange proposal, AB 946.

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Since the story is sketchy, I interpreted the bill to make it more restrictive on needle exchanges.

I think that currently it goes on as standard practice and the bill would make it necessary to have an emergency declared to allow exchanges.

What's your take?

"Kudos to Gray Davis for getting it right. We shouldn't encourage people to continue their hazardous addiction by getting free needles from the government. Its one of his last acts wholly in the public interest."

IMHO, from the public interest, vis a vis public health and the spread of HIV/AIDS, the vast majority of studies show needle exchanges work. I have not come across any study to the contrary, and I'm no fan of most current public health initiatives.

How anyone can willingly stick needles in their bodies, I can't understand, especially in light of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. But it must also be viewed in the light of recognizing human nature with its propensity for error and the result of the war on drugs(WOD).

If the drugs were not made artificially expensive by the WOD, there would be that many less folks using needles to satisfy their addiction as they could just snort it.

I believe informed conservatives understand that laws can't change the aberrations of human nature. People only change their harmful habits when they hit bottom and realize they caused a disaster because of their habits and actions. Laws that incarcerate them, providing them with 3 hots and a cot, don't do much either. The WOD and drug prohibition is a public health and civil liberty disaster.

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