House passes bill to, again, limit what syringe service programs can distribute in WV

Del. Gino Chiarelli, R-Monongalia (right), speaks with House Judiciary Chair Tom Fast, R-Fayette, during the House floor session on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024. (Perry Bennett | West Virginia Legislative Photography)

Under a bill passed by the House on Tuesday, syringe service programs in West Virginia may soon be prohibited from distributing safe smoking equipment to people who use drugs.

House Bill 4667 passed the House 88-12, with two Democrats — Dels. Hollis Lewis, D-Kanawha and Ric Griffith, D-Wayne — splitting from their party colleagues to support the bill. Three Republicans — Dels. David Green, R-McDowell; Keith Marple, R-Harrison and Phil Mallow, R-Marion — voted down the bill with the other Democrats.

There was no discussion in the House regarding the proposed legislation before Tuesday’s vote. In Judiciary Committee last week , several lawmakers voiced concerns that the law could limit the ability of syringe service programs to assist people who use drugs and quell the spread of diseases commonly tied to intravenous drug use.

“Smoking does not spread the diseases that needles do. [Constituents who reached out concerned about this bill] felt that this is a safer way if people wanted to do drugs,” Marple said in committee last week. “Smoking, using those devices instead of shooting up with needles is going to curb a lot of disease.”

In a brief exchange with Del. Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, the bill’s sponsor, Del. Geno Chiarelli, R-Monongalia, acknowledged this fact.

“Do you think [SSPs distribute smoking devices] to prevent bloodborne diseases? That they’re giving these to try and veer people away from intravenous drug use?” Pushkin asked.

“I think that is some of the logic they use, yes. That overall they believe smoking is less destructive to your body than injection,” Chiarelli responded.

Chiarelli shared no other details on the floor explaining his rationale for the legislation.

According to the Centers for Disease Control as well as a number of infectious disease and harm reduction experts, smoking drugs is a safer alternative to injecting drugs, leading to lower rates of overdoses, HIV, hepatitis and other diseases that can be contracted from sharing syringes or using old, broken syringes.

Research has shown that access to safe smoking equipment is especially critical in places where access to clean syringes is limited. HB 4667 comes as the state has already banned needs-based syringe service programs — which are the most efficient at transitioning people into recovery while decreasing disease rates and fatal overdoses — from operating in West Virginia.

The bill adopted by the House on Tuesday adds language in state code to the licensure requirements for syringe service programs. In order to be licensed under the state Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification, which is a lengthy and burdensome process but the only legal way to distribute syringes in West Virginia, a program must not distribute smoking devices.

In the proposed code, smoking devices are listed as including but not being limited to: “hand pipes, bubblers, bongs, dab rigs, hookahs, crack pipes or disposable smoking devices.”

In Judiciary last week, Rachel Thaxton, interim director for the state Office of Drug Control Policy, told lawmakers that, “smoking [drugs] is usually the better option for people” and confirmed that safe smoking equipment is being distributed by SSPs in the state as a harm reduction measure.

Thaxton acknowledged “the benefit” of distributing safe smoking equipment through syringe service programs, but does not believe that implementation of the proposed law would “persuade people” to start injected drug use if they weren’t already doing so. It would, however, limit the options for transitioning people who use drugs off of intravenous use.

HB 4667 will now move to the Senate for consideration, where lawmakers have until March 11 — the 60th and final day of session — to make it law.

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