Drug-jab revamp is now law
Gov. Hochul on Thursday signed into law a package of bills aimed at combating the opioid crisis — including one that decriminalizes the public possession and sale of hypodermic needles and syringes.
The new law — effective immediately — eliminates a section of the state’s penal code that says possessing a needle or syringe in public is a class-A misdemeanor.
Under the old law, individuals were permitted to obtain needles and syringes from pharmacies or medical sites sanctioned by the state Department of Health’s “Expanded Syringe Access Program,” but they were still getting arrested as a strict interpretation said unlawful possession or sale was a criminal offense.
“It’s now 20 years ago that we thought we had legalized possession of hypodermics in New York, with the language that I wrote . . . and because of the, shall we say, overly aggressive misinterpretation of glitches in that legislation, glitches that remain police officers are sending people to Rikers Island and other jails around the state, on the grounds that they’re illegally possessing a hypodermic, and that doesn’t do any good,” said state Assembly sponsor and Health Committee Chairman Dick Gottfried (D-Manhattan) at a press conference at John Jay College.
“Treatment should always be accessible for those who need it,” he added.
The law also removes the cap of 10 needles allowed per sale to individuals under the old law.
Advocates argue the change will make it safer for those with substance use disorder and help reduce the transmission of HIV/ AIDS, Hepatitis C and other blood-borne illnesses.
Although the DOH expanded its program in 2019 permitting LGBTQ centers, local government health departments and sexuallytransmitted-disease clinics to hand out free syringes, critics argue the state has done nothing to curb individuals from discarding used needles in playgrounds, neighborhoods and subway stations.
Mayor de Blasio has tried to get DOH approval to set up four supervised injection sites in the five boroughs — so users can shoot up under the watch of medical personnel — but exGov. Andrew Cuomo was against the proposal as were many community activists.