CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) – Critics of a bill awaiting Governor Jim Justice’s signature or veto could make it more difficult for some harm reduction organizations to help people struggling with substance abuse disorder.

The bill is House Bill 4667 , which states that syringe programs cannot distribute smoking devices as a means of harm reduction to people active in addiction. It has already been passed by the West Virginia House and Senate.

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The idea behind harm reduction is to help people who are using drugs to stay safe and stay alive. That is why several organizations give out syringes and pipes. Many people from these harm reduction organizations criticize the bill, which is supported by its main sponsor, Del. Geno Chiarelli (R-Monongalia).

“Pipes are harm reduction,” one advocate named Tasha Withrow said. She is the co-founder of Project Mayday . “Pipes provide an alternative to injection. That means that there’s going to be less transition of HIV and hepatitis C and other infections. There’s going to be less fatal overdose. It gives people options. It can be a healthier choice compared to injection. To give people the choice of body autonomy is very important.”

“People with substance abuse disorder, we don’t want them to continue to use. That should be the end goal of treatment is to get them to stop. The environment that was being created by the harm reduction program, I don’t think contributed to that,” Del. Chiarelli (R) said.

Del. Chiarelli said he used to be an addiction counselor, though he received the inspiration to create this bill after visiting a harm reduction clinic himself out of curiosity.

“They asked me a couple of questions, and I left there with a drug using equipment, paraphernalia,” he said.

“When it comes to harm reduction, I like harm reduction as a program. I don’t want that to be confused. I think there are great elements of it that are important,” Del. Chiarelli said. “However, I think you have to kind of have to walk a fine line because certain elements of it trend into an enabling territory, and that’s something that I can’t support.”

Del. Chiarelli said that providing smoking devices crossed that “fine line,” and that he wants to see harm reduction efforts continue without doing what he called “enabling” people.

“It seemed like I found the same pattern, that the people who were doing the best when it comes to recovery. They were the ones saying ‘This is not a good idea. I don’t think that if I have this kind of thing available to me in the very beginning that I would have been able to be as successful as I am now,’” Del. Chiarelli said. “The people that aren’t always doing the greatest, they’re the ones who really like the idea of free smoking devices.”

Critics of the bill, however, said the delegate’s standpoint is debatable in terms of effectiveness in the recovery journey.

“If he (Justice) really cares about West Virginians, not just the West Virginians who use drugs but the community as a whole, he will veto this bill,” Withrow said. “This bill will cause more deaths, it will cause more disease, and it takes away more choice and options for people, and that’s what we want to provide is that body autonomy to everybody.”

Withrow is an overdose survivor herself and said the community of people struggling with addiction needs to be prioritized. She said taking away smoking devices is harmful to harm reduction’s mission.

Laura Jones is the Executive Director of Milan Puskar Health Right in Morgantown. Her organization would be directly affected if the Bill is approved by Justice.

“The varied smoking supplies that we are being prevented from giving out are actually for sale down the street at a local smoke shop. So, they’re legal. It’s not like it’s an illegal thing,” Jones said, addressing the Bill’s prohibition of smoking devices.

Jones said when helping clients, her organization aims to help clients make their own decisions on how to get help when struggling with addiction. She said it’s all about empowering people to take action for themselves.

“Moving towards recovery is a process. It doesn’t happen overnight. So, in the meantime, we need to help people be as safe as possible and that’s our main goal. To keep people alive and keep them as healthy as we can until they’re ready for treatment,” Jones said. “Only an individual can make that decision whether they’re ready for treatment, and to be honest, when people are forced into treatment, it often doesn’t work well. They drop out or they relapse quickly.”

“So, it is important that we go with the individual’s pace in terms of moving towards recovery. Any small change can be a step toward recovery. So even coming to a harm reduction program can be a step towards recovery because you’re taking care of yourself, you’re taking some responsibility for what you’re doing and wanting to do it more responsibly and more safely.”

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