Your support for needle exchange legislation played a tremendous role in the passage of the first ever needle exchange program in Texas! Although SB 308, which passed the Texas Senate, was denied a vote in the full House when the Chair of the Public Health Committee refused to post the bill in her committee, SB 308's sponsor, Representative Ruth Jones McClendon, came back in the final hour and attached an amendment to a budget bill (SB 10) allowing for a pilot needle exchange program in San Antonio.

Now public health officials in San Antonio will be given the chance to show that needle exchange can be effective in preventing disease and reducing health costs. With this evidence, there's a good chance Texas will expand legal needle exchange programs to other cities in the 2009 legislative session.

Thank you for taking action and making a positive difference in syringe access policy in Texas! Legislators frequently mentioned the large number of faxes, letters and phone calls they received in support of SB 308, and we have every reason to believe that your strong support helped to give cautious legislators the confidence they needed to vote for a more reasonable and effective way to deal with injection drug abuse and addiction.

Please take a moment to thank SB 308's Senate and House sponsors for their hard work and dedication to preventing HIV and hepatitis C in Texas. Senator Deuell and Representative McClendon truly championed the cause and worked above and beyond the call of duty to pass needle exchange into law.

Stay tuned for syringe access and general harm reduction policy updates as Texas moves forward with a new vision of HIV and hepatitis C prevention.

Thank you for all you do to support common sense and compassionate drug policy in Texas!