Sponsored by:
Senator JOSEPH F. VITALE
District 19 (Middlesex)
Senator VIN GOPAL
District 11 (Monmouth)
Senator NIA H. GILL
District 34 (Essex and Passaic)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Diegnan
SYNOPSIS
Permits establishment of additional harm reduction programs to distribute clean syringes and provide support services to injection drug users.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning harm reduction programs and supplementing and amending P.L.2006, c.99.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) As used in P.L.2006, c.99 (C.26:5C-25 et al.):
Authorized harm reduction program means a harm reduction program approved by the Commissioner of Health.
Eligible entity means a federally qualified health center, a public health agency, a substance abuse treatment program, an AIDS service organization, or another entity with the capacity to implement a harm reduction program as determined by the Department of Health.
Harm reduction program means a program with the primary purpose of providing sterile syringe access to intravenous drug users, which additionally provides services including disposing of syringes and referring and linking intravenous drug users to HIV and viral hepatitis prevention services, substance use disorder treatment, medical and mental health care, and other health care services that are essential to addressing the health and well-being of individuals who use intravenous drugs in a manner that is consistent with State and federal law.
2. Section 2 of P.L.2006, c.99 (C.26:5C-26) is amended to read as follows:
2. The Legislature finds and declares that:
a. Injection drug use is one of the most common methods of transmission of HIV, hepatitis C, and other bloodborne pathogens;
b. About one in every three persons living with HIV or AIDS is female;
c. More than a million people in the United States [are frequent intravenous drug users] use drugs at a cost to society in health care, lost productivity, accidents, and crime of more than $50 billion annually;
d. [Sterile syringe access] Harm reduction programs have been proven effective in reducing the spread of HIV, hepatitis C, and other bloodborne pathogens, and in reducing overdoses and overdose deaths without increasing drug abuse or other adverse social impacts;
e. Every scientific, medical, and professional agency or organization that has studied this issue, including the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Medical Association, the American Public Health Association, the National Academy of Sciences, the National Institutes of Health Consensus Panel, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the United States Conference of Mayors, has found [sterile syringe access] harm reduction programs to be effective in reducing the transmission of HIV; [and]
f. [Sterile syringe access] Harm reduction programs are designed to prevent the spread of HIV, hepatitis C, and other bloodborne pathogens, and to provide a bridge to [drug abuse] substance use disorder treatment and other social services [for drug users]; and it is in the public interest to establish such programs in this State in accordance with statutory guidelines designed to ensure the safety of consumers who use these programs, the health care workers who operate them, and the members of the general public;
g. Despite the attention that substance use disorders and overdose deaths are receiving Statewide, the number of overdose deaths in New Jersey has steadily risen. There was a 40 percent increase in overdose deaths in 2016. In 2018, there were roughly 3,000 overdose deaths in New Jersey and 70,000 overdose deaths nationwide;
h. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the urgency of maintaining and expanding harm reduction services. Now more than ever, harm reduction expansion is critical. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention s June 24-30, 2020 mortality and morbidity weekly report, 13 percent of U.S. residents began substance use or increased substance use during the pandemic. New Jersey has already started to see the consequences of the intersecting opioid and COVID-19 crises. As of July 2020 there have been over 1,800 overdose deaths in 2020. If this trend continues, New Jersey will lose 3,144 individuals to overdose in 2020, which would be New Jersey s highest drug-related fatality count in the past decade;
i. The opioid epidemic is part of a syndemic and is associated with increased rates of HIV and hepatitis infection, as well as other social complexities;
j. New Jersey enacted the "Bloodborne Disease Harm Reduction Act" P.L.2006, c.99 (C.26:5C-25 et al.) in 2006 to allow for the establishment of sterile syringe access programs, which are hereafter referred to as harm reduction programs. New Jersey now has seven such programs operating throughout the State;
k. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describe harm reduction programs as an effective component of a comprehensive and integrated approach to HIV prevention. Such programs offer clean needles, resources for critical services such as HIV care, treatment, pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis services, screening for other sexually transmitted diseases, hepatitis C testing and treatment, hepatitis A and B vaccinations, and other medical, social, and mental health services. In addition to providing clean needles and testing services, most programs offer other services, such as education concerning safe injection practices, wound care, and overdose prevention;
l. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has stated that there is conclusive scientific evidence that clean syringe programs, as part of a comprehensive HIV prevention strategy, are an effective public health intervention that reduces the transmission of HIV and does not encourage the use of illegal drugs
m. Harm reduction programs do not promote drug use and do not minimize the harm and danger associated with lawful and unlawful drug use. Individuals utilizing harm reduction programs are often ill, in pain, have experienced trauma, and are served by professionals who offer services with compassion and without judgment;
n. There is evidence demonstrating that crime does not increase in areas surrounding harm reduction programs;
o. Harm reduction programs do not interfere with substance use disorder treatment efforts. The programs provide a bridge to substance