Encouraging pharmacy sale of syringes to injection drug users in New Mexico.

Abstract

Injection drug use is a prominent public health problem in both urban and rural New Mexico.1 The New Mexico legislature enacted laws in 1997 and 2001 to help increase sterile syringe availability to injection drug users (IDUs) to prevent transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other blood-borne pathogens. The 1997 laws authorized syringe exchange programs (SEPs) in New Mexico, and the New Mexico Department of Health (DOH) supported the development of a statewide SEP network. Based on enrollment surveys as of June 19, 2002, 20 SEPs were operational and served a total of 4,628 clients. Some IDUs have purchased syringes at community pharmacies, including those in areas served by SEPs. In the parts of New Mexico without access to SEPs, pharmacies have been a particularly important source of sterile syringes. In 2001, to alleviate the concerns of some pharmacists that selling syringes to IDUs might not be fully legal, the state legislature amended the Controlled Substances Act to specifically exempt pharmacists from criminal liability for selling syringes to persons who did not have documented medical need.