Legislators seek to legalize needle exchanges in Oklahoma
A bipartisan group of state legislators has proposed legalizing needle exchange sin Oklahoma.
Legislators in Oklahoma's House and Senate see t he program as key to reducing the spread of Hepatitis C and HIV.
Oklahoma is the worst state for the number of people living with hepatitis C infections, according to national health data released last year.
A handful of bills filed for the 2020 legislatives ession would legalize needle exchanges, al so known as harm reduction services or syringe access programs, and outline the rules for operating such a program.
As proposed, the programs would allow drug users to exchange used hypodermic needles for clean needles without fear of retribution.
Sharing or reusing needles for intravenous drug use can increase the spread of disease. Injection drug use is the primary mode of hepatitis C transmission in Oklahoma, according to data from the Oklahoma State Department of Health.
A bill from Sen. Carri Hicks, D-Oklahoma City, would exempt hypodermic needles and syringes from the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Act, where the items are currently classified as drug paraphernalia.
Hicks' Senate Bill 1346 also would allow governmental or nongovernmental entities to operate needle exchange programs. Nationwide, 39 states already have needle exchange programs.
Hicks never expected to file such legislation this year. She came to the idea of needle exchanges after looking for ways to reduce the Oklahoma Department of Corrections' high costs to care for or treat inmates with hepatitis C. It costs the agency roughly $29,000 to treat a person with hepatitis C.
“When we started looking at what other states have been doing, it' s pretty clear t hat states that are even similar to our political makeup had done pilot programs to enable a needle exchange or syringe service program that would prioritize mitigating that spread of disease,” she said.
In the last budget cycle, the corrections department reportedly had 3,107 inmates test positive for hepatitis C. To treat all of them would have cost $91 million, or more than double what the state spent on all inmate health care last year.
The department cannot afford to treat all inmates with hepatitis C, so those who are severely ill get priority.
“Our goal really is on harm reduction, and if people are engaging in illegal substance abuse then at l east we're prioritizing public health in a way that will emphasize the education around clean needles,” Hicks said.
Similar legislation by Rep. Carol Bush, R-Tulsa, cleared its first hurdle Thursday after some tough questions from members of the House Public Safety Committee.
Bush' s House Bill 3028 would allow state agencies, county health departments, private businesses, nonprofit entities and churches to operate needle exchange programs so long as the programs aren't paid for with state funding. Any entity running a needle exchange would have to periodically report detailed statistics to the state health department.
The bill is a result of a statewide coalition that has been working on the issue for about nine months, she said.
In the committee hearing, Reps. Carl Newton, R- Cherokee, and Justin Humphrey, R-Lane, expressed concern that needle exchanges would have the unintended consequence of promoting drug use.
Research has shown t hat with 320 needle exchange programs nationwide, none have resulted in increased drug usage, Bush said. Drug users who visit a needle exchange are 3.5 times more likely to stop injecting drugs because the programs also offer them a chance to get help for drug addiction.
“I've been to some of our clinics in the Tulsa area, and these are soccer moms, these are kids, these are our next-door neighbors, these are people you might not think about and what I've learned … is many of these people do not want to be addicted,” she said.
Bush also pointed to a needle exchange started in 2015 in Indiana under then- Gov. Mike Pence. New cases of HIV dropped within two months of the program starting, she said.
HB 3028 bill passed committee on a vote of 7-5.
Bush is working with other legislators, including Hicks, Sen. John Michael Montgomery, R-Law ton, and Reps. Daniel Pae, R- Lawton, and John Wald ron, D- Tulsa, who also filed needle exchange bills.