Key Florida Republicans Now Say Yes To Clean Needles For Drug Users

Key Florida Republicans Now Say Yes To Clean Needles For Drug Users Enlarge this image toggle caption Courtesy of Dr. Hansel Tookes Courtesy of Dr. Hansel Tookes There's a green van parked on the edge of downtown Miami on a corner shadowed by overpasses. Sponsor Message "This is more than just a needle exchange," says Democratic state senator Oscar Braynon. "We have made it so easy for people to get into HIV care now, and we have so many people who we never would have known were infected — and would have infected countless other people — who are on their medications," says Dr. Hansel Tookes, head of Miami's needle exchange pilot program He has been pushing legislators to legalize needle exchanges since he was a medical student six years ago. " Why harm reduction trumped politics When Republican state senator Rob Bradley first deliberated over needle exchanges in Florida six years ago, he was critical.