L.A. County to
sell syringes over the counter to combat HIV

Los Angeles County will allow pharmacies that register with its Department of Health Services to sell syringes over the counter in an attempt to slow the spread of HIV and other infections that can be transmitted through needles shared by drug users. The board of supervisors voted 3-2 on Tuesday to allow pharmacies to sell up to 10 syringes to customers without a prescription, a move made possible by the passage of a January ballot measure that allows cities and counties to authorize the sales. The county hopes to begin the sales by October. "The cost of a syringe is infinitesimal compared to the cost of treating an AIDS patient who has contracted AIDS through a dirty needle," said supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who voted for the measure along with supervisors Gloria Molina and Yvonne Brathwaite Burke. Critics complain the policy amounts to a government endorsement of illegal drug use. Supervisors Mike Antonovich and Don Knabe voted against the proposal. The vote applies to pharmacies throughout the county, excluding Pasadena and Long Beach, which have their own health departments. The cities of Los Angeles and West Hollywood voted to support the effort earlier this year. In Los Angeles County, an estimated 14% of the 49,000 residents living with AIDS or who have died from the disease were either intravenous-drug users or had sexual contact with such users. The county is home to 120,000 to 190,000 illegal intravenous-drug users. In March, Riverside County voted against adopting the same sales policy, but other counties have approved the over-the-counter sales. Those counties include Alameda, Marin, San Francisco, Contra Costa, Santa Cruz, Yuba, and Yolo. (AP)