Charleston Gazette-Mail, Huntington Herald-Dispatch – As Kanawha County faces an impending HIV outbreak that could cost billions in taxpayer dollars, the West Virginia Senate’s Health and Human Resources Committee entertained a bill Thursday that would make it more difficult to operate programs proven to slow such diseases and save lives. Read the full article.
Senate Bill 334 would create a licensure program mandatory for any harm reduction program looking to operate in the state. To be licensed, a program would need letters of support from the county commission, sheriff and health officer of any county they intend to operate in.
The bill also would keep any program running a syringe service program — a tool proven through years of worldwide research to decrease disease spread and lessen drug use habits — from receiving any state-funded support.
