Ratification of New HIV/AIDS Legislation

 

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Currently, the Maine state legislature is in the process of hearing three new pieces of legislation advocating for changes in the state's current HIV/AIDS policies. 

 

The Testing Bills:  

If passed, these two bills would remove regulations requiring written consent for HIV testing, as well as requirements for pretest and posttest counseling, allowing for easier and more widely performed HIV testing.

 

An invasion of privacy?

 

The number of lives that increased HIV testing could spare far outweighs any of the potential consequences.

 

The Syringe Bill:

If passed, the syringe bill would increase or eliminate Maine's current legal limit on the number of syringes that can be possessed and/or transported at any given time.

 

Previous studies have suggested that needle exchange programs are instrumental in decreasing the spread of HIV (39, 40), but given that much of Maine is extremely rural, drug users may have to travel long distances to reach one of the four needle exchange sites in the state.  Since current Maine statutes only allow for a one-to-one exchange of a maximum of 10 syringes, the average IDU is forced to exchange equipment far more often than possible in order to consistently use sterile syringes.