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In an effort to establish a comprehensive plan to stem the spread of injection-related HIV and Hepatitis C, the Asbury Park City Council will introduce new legislation to govern a Sterile Syringe Access Program [SAP].

To be administered by the Visiting Nurse Association Health Group, the city’s program will operate “in accordance with the guidelines and procedures established by the New Jersey Department of Health, according to the ordinance.

SAPs typically work to eliminate syringe sharing by providing safe disposal options but also provide syringe users with drug treatment referrals.

The initiative has been on the forefront of Help Not Handcuffs founder Randy Thompson [at right] message, who has called for the city to embrace the harm reduction model.

The New Jersey Blood-Borne Disease Harm Reduction Act, passed in 2006, established the program in six municipalities but Asbury Park is the only municipality that did not activate its program, Thompson said in an April interview.

“It’s a bit of a mystery but with everyone screaming ‘Heroin/Opiate Epidemic,’ especially with the understanding that criminalization and forced treatment policies have failed, how are these tools not part of the solution,” Thompson said. “Harm reduction strategies don’t exist or worse, they sit inactive, as is the case of Asbury Park’s Syringe Access Program.”

Deputy Mayor Amy Quinn said during the Oct. 26 Regular City Council Meeting that the legislation was on hold while research, data and details were vetted.

According to the ordinance:

The sharing of contaminated syringes is the leading cause of HIV/AIDS in Asbury Park, with 37 percent of HIV/AIDS infections to date caused by the sharing of contaminated syringes.

Seventy percent of individuals with HIV/AIDS infections in Asbury Park are African American

Studies of sterile syringe access programs have proven that these programs serve as a bridge to drug treatment and other social services for injection drug users, and save taxpayers money by reducing medical costs

Six reputable government studies and numerous clinical studies have proven sterile syringe access programs to be effective in reducing the spread of HIV, hepatitis C, and other blood-borne diseases, without increasing drug abuse

The ordinance will be introduced during the 7 p.m. Regular City Council Meeting in Council Chambers, located at 1 Municipal Plaza.

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