Introduction
For nearly 30 years, the Harm Reduction Coalition has been working with grassroots advocates, state officials, and legislative allies to ensure that those who are invested in change have the tools to do the work. This comprehensive document is designed to help explain the laws impacting syringe services programs in your state. Like you, we understand that safe and straightforward access to sterile syringes is vital for many in our communities.
Because legislation plays an active role in making sure that everyone has access to the fundamental services that we all need to thrive, we want to ensure that you have the resources that you need to effectively motivate change. This guide will help you to understand how your state’s government is ensuring that communities have access to safe syringes and to identify where there are gaps in legislative policy that have contributed to inequities in safe services.
If you are thinking about proactively starting a campaign to provide safe access to syringes in your community, please contact the policy team at policy@harmreduction.org. We also understand that the policy landscape is only one part of building a supportive environment for robust and sustainable syringe access. If you are looking for resources for building and maintaining a program, you can find all of our syringe access resources here.