IMPACT OF INCREASED LEGAL ACCESS TO NEEDLES AND SYRINGES ON COMMUNITYPHARMACIES NEEDLE AND SYRINGE SALES - CONNECTICUT, 1992-1993

In May 1992, the Connecticut legislature passed new laws aimed at incr easing injecting drug users' (IDUs) access to sterile needles and syri nges (syringes); as of July 1992, pharmacists were permitted to sell a nd individuals were permitted to possess up to 10 syringes without med ical prescriptions (nonprescription syringes). We evaluated the impact of the new laws by conducting (1) prospective surveillance of syringe sales and policies at selected community pharmacies (pharmacies) and (2) a telephone survey of pharmacy managers' reports of syringe sales and policies at a statewide stratified random sample of pharmacies. Ou r data provide direct evidence that most, but not all, Connecticut pha rmacies sold nonprescription syringes when permitted to do so by the n ew laws. For example, using the telephone survey data, we estimate tha t during November, 1993, 83% [95% CI: 77-89%] of all Connecticut pharm acies sold nonprescription syringes and 56,000 [95% CI: 44,000-68,000] nonprescription syringes were sold. during November 1993. Our data pr ovide indirect evidence that IDUs were purchasing nonprescription syri nges at pharmacies. For example, in five Hartford pharmacies located i n neighborhoods where injection drug use was prevalent, the total numb er of nonprescription syringes sold per month increased significantly from 460 in July 1992 to 2,482 in June 1993 (p = 0.0001). The data sug gest that the new laws increased IDUs' access to sterile syringes in C onnecticut.