With less than three weeks remaining before he resigns from office, New
Jersey Gov. James McGreevey signed an executive order that allows three
communities to conduct needle-exchange programs.
In signing the order, McGreevey called the spread of AIDS by injection
drug use a "public-health emergency." Bills to allow needle-exchange
programs in the state have failed to pass for more than a decade in the
state legislature.
"Today, there are New Jersey communities facing a public-health crisis
that cannot wait," said. McGreevey. Citing government-backed studies that
found a decline in HIV in cities that allow needle-exchange programs,
McGeevey added, "The evidence is incontrovertible, and we've resisted that
evidence at a high cost."
The communities that will be selected for a needle-exchange program will
be determined by their rate of HIV and the percentage attributed to
injection-drug use.
Senate President Richard Codey (D- Essex), who will become acting governor
when McGreevey resigns, has not decided whether to allow the executive
order to stand.
"He hasn't had a chance to look at it, but he intends to review it closely
and wants to work with other legislative leaders," said Kelley Heck,
Codey's spokeswoman. "He understands it's a sensitive issue. He wants to
give it the attention that it merits."
New Jersey has the fifth-highest HIV rate in the country, and more than
half of the state's 64,219 HIV and AIDS cases can be linked to
injection-drug use.
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