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November 2007Volume 1 Issue 5
THE HARM REDUCTION NEWS
 
IN THISISSUE
•SB767 and AB110Signed by theGovernor of California•Successful TrainingHighlights
Individual Highlights:
New Bills 1Victory for AIDSPrevention 1Training Update2San Fran ExploresSafe Injection2Update on AIDS 4Announcements6
The community of harmreduction professionals andconsumers were especiallyexcited in recent weeks asGovernor Schwarzenegger signed two key bills – SB 767and AB 110.SB 767 reads as follows. This billwould authorize, until January 1,2011, a licensed health careprovider, who is alreadypermitted pursuant to existinglaw to prescribe an opioidantagonist, as defined, if actingwith reasonable care, toprescribe and subsequentlydispense or distribute an opiodantagonist in conjunction with anopioid overdose prevention and
AB110 AND SB767 SIGNED BY THEGOVERNOR
 VICTORY FOR LOCAL AIDS PREVENTION AND DRUGTREATMENT PROGRAMS
In a victory for HIV/AIDSprevention and drugtreatment programs,Congress today removed anamendment to ban federalfunds for cities that establisha medically supervised druginjection facility from theLabor-Health and HumanServices-Educationappropriations bill. Theamendment by Senator JimDeMint (R-SC)-included inthe Senate version of the bill-was deleted by a bipartisanconference committeecomposed of House andSenate Appropriationssubcommittee members.
 
treatment training program, as defined,without being subject to civil liability or criminal prosecution.AB110 makes it possible to use state HIVprevention and education funds for thedistribution of needles and syringes. The billrecognizes that the continued spread of HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C represents aserious health threat in California. Personswho are injection drug users are at greatrisk if they do not have access to cleansyringes/needles. This bill makes it possibleto use key funds to provide thisparaphanelia to injection drug users. Itsupports the highly important work of theneedle exchange programs in LA andelsewhere in the US.
"
This is a victory for major cities seeking ways toaddress the health issuesfaced by those who useintravenous drugs," saidHillary McQuie, westernregional director of theHarm Reduction Coalition,a group committed toreducing the harmfulimpacts of drug use insociety. The HarmReduction Coalition (HRC)viewed the amendment asa reckless response to anOctober meeting it helpedorganize in SanFrancisco. The meetingbrought together community leaders,advocates, and the SanFrancisco Department of Health to discussestablishing a medicallysupervised injectionfacility as a means of decreasing drugoverdoses and curbing thespread of Hepatitis C,HIV/AIDS, and other infectious diseases byintravenous drug users.The provision by Sen.DeMint was challenged byhealth and treatmentadvocates who argued thefederal governmentshould not control howstates and cities addresshealth issues.
 
 
THE HARM REDUCTION NEWS
PREVENTION,EDUCATION,ADVOCACY,SUPPORT
On Monday, November 2, Eve Rubelland Bobby Smith of Homeless HealthCare LA provided a highly successfultraining on Conflict De-Escalation andIntervention. The training wassponsored by the Harm ReductionTraining Institute. This day-long eventwas held at the offices of the DrugPolicy Alliance and was attended by21 professionals in various aspects of social services in LA.The training was extremely wellreceived as the members were
SUCCESSFUL TRAINING BY HOMELESS HEALTHCARE LA 
On October 18, the DrugPolicy Alliance, along withthe San FranciscoDepartment of PublicHealth, the HarmReduction Coalition, andthe San Francisco AIDSFoundation, cosponsoreda full-day symposium thatexamined the needs,feasibility, support, andvarious options for a legalSafe Injection Facility for homeless and marginallyhoused injection drug
San Francisco Explores Safe Injection Facilities
The California Chronic Care Coalition islooking for consumers who are willing tocome forward and speak to themembers of the media on a variety of issues that have impaired their accessto care or treatment, affordability , pre-existing conditions, underservedcondition, no insurance, no knowledge
California Chronic Care Coalition Seeks Consumer Input
provided a broad range of practical tools for dealing with avariety of difficult situations.Some of the situations that werediscussed included:
Difficult or irate clients
Potentially violent clients
Staying safe in difficult or violent situations
De-escalating a negativesituationusers (IDUs) in SanFrancisco, and for thecommunity impacted bythem.Organized by the Alliancefor Saving Lives, a localconsortium of community-based organizations of which DPA is a member,the symposium includedpublic health officials,service providers, legalexperts, injection drugusers, community groups,leaders in the faithcommunity, andevaluators from InSite, asafe injection facility inVancouver, Canada.San Francisco has severallarge concentrations of injection drug users(IDUs), and while HIVprevalence remainsrelatively low amongIDUs, rates of hepatitis Chave reached epidemiclevels and fatal opiateoverdose remains one of the leading causes of (CONTINUED ON PG 3)
of prevention or lackof awareness. TheCalifornia Hepatitis CTask Force is a coremember of thiscoalition and anypersons interested indiscussing their storywith the press shouldcontact Bill Remak @(707) 773-4922 for more information.
 
THE HARM REDUCTION NEWSPage 3 of 6
(From page 2)
death in San Francisco.Community concernsregarding public drug useand improperly discardedsyringes have been raisedrepeatedly over the lastfew decades. Forty other cities in eight countriesaround the world facingsimilar issues haveopened Safe InjectionFacilities since the firstone opened in Switzerlandin 1986, and last week’ssymposium opened abroad discussion aboutthis option for SanFrancisco.Positive research results
San Francisco Explores Safe Injection Facilities
NeighborhoodFundraising NetworkInc. (NFN), inconjunction withglobal, national, andlocal HIV/AIDSawareness activities,is proud to producethe
Seventh AnnualSouthern CaliforniaAfrican-AmericanHIV/AIDSConference. Theyare
anticipatingattendees rangingfrom medicalhealthcareprofessionals and
2007 African American World AIDS Day Conference
Event takes placeon: Sat. Dec. 1, atthe Crowne PlazaHotel & Resort300 N. Harbor Dr.Redondo Beach
from InSite werepresented at thesymposium. After four years of operation, theVancouver facility hasseen: reduction of publicdisorder related toinjection drug use;reduction of unsafedisposal of syringes; noadverse affect incommunity drug usepatterns; and no increasein drug-related crime.Scott Burris, law professor at Temple University inPhiladelphia, examinedthe legal landscapearound setting up a safeinjection facility. Mr. Burrispainted a picture of the current legaland political realities and left theaudience with the message that wherethere is a political will, there is a legalway to move forward.The day concluded with a paneldiscussion about next steps for turningthe day’s vision into a reality in SanFrancisco. Remarking upon thepalpable energy in the room, panelistsspoke about the need for outreach andeducation across a broad spectrum of communities. While acknowledging thevery real hurdles ahead, the audiencedemonstrated significant confidencethat San Francisco is the city that canlead the way.
Many thanks to the Drug PolicyAlliance website for this article.www.drugpolicy.org.
service providers toconcerned citizensdiagnosed with AIDSor living with personswho have HIV/AIDS.This year the Keynoteaddress will bedelivered by KeithRawlings, MD,Medical Director Peabody HealthCenter /AIDS Arms,Inc.Nationwide, AIDS isthe number one killer of African Americansaged 25
 
to 44.Researchers estimatethat 1 in 50 AfricanAmerican men and 1in 150. AfricanAmerican women areinfected withHIV/AIDS. Accordingto current estimates,approximately half of all new HIV infectionsoccur among AfricanAmericans.On Sunday, Dec. 2,there will the 2007
African AmericanWorld AIDS DayGOSPEL CONCERT
featuring HezekiahWalker and ByronCage.
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