STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3135 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 27, 2021 ___________ Introduced by Sen. PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to hypodermic syring- es The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivisions 1 and 5 of section 3381 of the public health 2 law, subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 178 of the laws of 2010, subdi- 3 vision 5 as amended by section 9-a of part B of chapter 58 of the laws 4 of 2007, and paragraphs (e), (f) and (g) of subdivision 5 as amended by 5 section 2 of part D of chapter 71 of the laws of 2016, are amended to 6 read as follows: 7 1. It shall be unlawful for any person to sell or furnish to another 8 person or persons, a hypodermic syringe or hypodermic needle except: 9 (a) pursuant to a prescription of a practitioner, which for the 10 purposes of this section shall include a patient specific prescription 11 form as provided for in the education law; or 12 (b) to persons who have been authorized by the commissioner to obtain 13 and possess such instruments; or 14 (c) by a pharmacy licensed under article one hundred thirty-seven of 15 the education law, health care facility licensed under article twenty- 16 eight of this chapter or a health care practitioner who is otherwise 17 authorized to prescribe the use of hypodermic needles or syringes within 18 his or her scope of practice; provided, however, that such sale or 19 furnishing: (i) shall only be to a person eighteen years of age or 20 older; and (ii) [~~shall be limited to a quantity of ten or less hypoderm-~~ 21 ~~ic needles or syringes; and (iii)~~] shall be in accordance with subdivi- 22 sion five of this section. 23 5. (a) A person eighteen years of age or older may obtain and possess 24 a hypodermic syringe or hypodermic needle pursuant to paragraph (c) of 25 subdivision one of this section. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD07375-01-1

S. 3135 2 1 (b) Subject to regulations of the commissioner, a pharmacy licensed 2 under article one hundred thirty-seven of the education law, a health 3 care facility licensed under article twenty-eight of this chapter or a 4 health care practitioner who is otherwise authorized to prescribe the 5 use of hypodermic needles or syringes within his or her scope of prac- 6 tice, may obtain and possess hypodermic needles or syringes for the 7 purpose of selling or furnishing them pursuant to paragraph (c) of 8 subdivision one of this section or for the purpose of disposing of them, 9 provided that such pharmacy, health care facility or health care practi- 10 tioner has registered with the department. 11 (c) Sale or furnishing of hypodermic syringes or hypodermic needles to 12 direct consumers pursuant to this subdivision by a pharmacy, health care 13 facility, or health care practitioner shall be accompanied by a safety 14 insert. Such safety insert shall be developed or approved by the commis- 15 sioner and shall include, but not be limited to, (i) information on the 16 proper use of hypodermic syringes and hypodermic needles; (ii) the risk 17 of blood borne diseases that may result from the use of hypodermic 18 syringes and hypodermic needles; (iii) methods for preventing the trans- 19 mission or contraction of blood borne diseases; (iv) proper hypodermic 20 syringe and hypodermic needle disposal practices; (v) information on the 21 dangers of injection drug use, and how to access drug treatment; (vi) a 22 toll-free phone number for information on the human immunodeficiency 23 virus; and (vii) information on the safe disposal of hypodermic syringes 24 and hypodermic needles including the relevant provisions of the environ- 25 mental conservation law relating to the unlawful release of regulated 26 medical waste. The safety insert shall be attached to or included in the 27 hypodermic syringe and hypodermic needle packaging, or shall be given to 28 the purchaser at the point of sale or furnishing in brochure form. 29 [~~(d)~~] In addition to the requirements of paragraph (c) of subdivision 30 one of this section, a pharmacy licensed under article one hundred thir- 31 ty-seven of the education law may sell or furnish hypodermic needles or 32 syringes only if such pharmacy[~~: (i) does not advertise to the public~~ 33 ~~the availability for retail sale or furnishing of hypodermic needles or~~ 34 ~~syringes without a prescription; and (ii)~~] at any location where hypo- 35 dermic needles or syringes are kept for retail sale or furnishing, 36 stores such needles and syringes in a manner that makes them available 37 only to authorized personnel and not openly available to customers. 38 [~~(e)~~] (d) A pharmacy registered under article one hundred thirty-seven 39 of the education law may offer counseling and referral services to 40 customers purchasing hypodermic syringes for the purpose of: preventing 41 injection drug abuse; the provision of drug treatment; preventing and 42 treating hepatitis C; preventing drug overdose; testing for the human 43 immunodeficiency virus; and providing pre-exposure prophylaxis and non- 44 occupational post-exposure prophylaxis. The content of such counseling 45 and referral shall be at the professional discretion of the pharmacist. 46 [~~(f)~~] (e) The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations 47 necessary to implement the provisions of this subdivision which shall 48 include a requirement that such pharmacies, health care facilities and 49 health care practitioners cooperate in [a] the safe disposal of used 50 hypodermic needles or syringes. 51 [~~(g)~~] (f) The commissioner may, upon the finding of a violation of 52 this section, suspend for a determinate period of time the sale or 53 furnishing of syringes by a specific entity. 54 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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