It's now Permanent: Possession of Syringes and Needles is Now Legal in California

[keangkong]

Previously, California had passed a few measures temporarily permitting people to possess needles and syringes without a prescription. Those laws were to expire on January 1, 2026. However, those have since been made permanent.

Still only doctors and pharmacists, and in some cases veterinarians, may legally dispense the needles and syringes even though no prescription is required. The stated purpose of the law is prevent the spread of diseases.

CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES (drugs) AND ALCOHOL

The Jan. 1, 2026, sunset date deleted, thus permanently legalizing possession of hypodermic needles and syringes solely for personal use.

AB 309 (Stats. 2025, ch. 685 [https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB309].) Amends BP 4145.5 and HS 11364.

 

[AndyPanda]

lol. When was the last time they prosecuted someone in California for having syringes? 😂 They hand out syringes to junkies on the street to keep them there because non-profits get about $900,000 per homeless junkie. Same reason they don’t do too much to stop the flow of drugs. Too much money to be made.

 

[skeptick]

Previously, California had passed a few measures temporarily permitting people to possess needles and syringes without a prescription. Those laws were to expire on January 1, 2026. However, those have since been made permanent.

Still only doctors and pharmacists, and in some cases veterinarians, may legally dispense the needles and syringes even though no prescription is required. The stated purpose of the law is prevent the spread of diseases.

CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES (drugs) AND ALCOHOL

The Jan. 1, 2026, sunset date deleted, thus permanently legalizing possession of hypodermic needles and syringes solely for personal use.

AB 309 (Stats. 2025, ch. 685 [https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB309].) Amends BP 4145.5 and HS 11364.

Any junky, worth his street creds, know where and how to get free needles. They need to turn in used ones to get one for one exchange. Not hard to find syringes on the ground in those parts of town Ask me how I know.

 

[keangkong]

lol. When was the last time they prosecuted someone in California for having syringes? 😂 They hand out syringes to junkies on the street to keep them there because non-profits get about $900,000 per homeless junkie. Same reason they don’t do too much to stop the flow of drugs. Too much money to be made.

I used to represent folks in court charged with possessing syringes in California. The last time I did so was about 15 years ago. However, I have been handling more serious cases since then.

 

[Varixdos]

Any junky, worth his street creds, know where and how to get free needles. They need to turn in used ones to get one for one exchange. Not hard to find syringes on the ground in those parts of town Ask me how I know.

I’m a pizza junkie. Where do I turn in my uneaten crust for more pizza slices?

 

[keangkong]

I'm all for people being obtain syringes without a prescription. On one hand, there are the people like me and you who use them for GLP-1 drugs. However, on the other, the drug addicts need clean syringes. You're going to have a hard time stopping addicts from injecting themselves. To stop the spread of disease, I want needles and syringes available to them.

 

[keangkong]

I’m a pizza junkie. Where do I turn in my uneaten crust for more pizza slices?

You're crazy if you don't eat the crust. No true pizza junkie doesn't eat crusts.

 

[AndyPanda]

“drug addicts need clean syringes.”

I hope you were being facetious.

That’s on them. Let natural selection do its thing. They chose that lifestyle.

 

[Calm Logic]

You know you are jonesing when the syringes at the feed store make you want to hurry home.

 

[skeptick]

I hope you were being facetious.

That’s on them. Let natural selection do its thing. They chose that lifestyle.

Like I also chose to be fat? Addiction a funny thing, runs in families but is known to skip generations. Seems some people are addicted to something, others are addicted to something different, like food. Some, like me, easily addicted to lots of things. It's thoght to be an 'addictive personality'. Don't try to figure it out as there's nothing logical about it. Blame it on brain chemistry. I thank the UNIVERSE.(my higher power) I found a way out, like I found Tirz to help with my food addiction. Or maybe it found me. I wasn't smart enough to figure it out on my own. Darwin was only right some of the time.

 

[nevets]

Addiction is a disease and it’s unfortunate that there are many people who believe that those who have addiction deserve to die, especially since this is on a GLP1 forum where many people are addicted to food.

Same rewarding dopamine pathway comes from food and other drugs and the hit of dopamine gets your body addicted. Some people use food as a emotional crutch, others alcohol and other hard drugs. There’s also a genetic disposition to addiction that can’t be controlled. I always think that I could be a couple bad events away from being an addict and try to be compassionate. No one wants to be addicted…

 

[yobculture]

Addiction is a disease and it’s unfortunate that there are many people who believe that those who have addiction deserve to die, especially since this is on a GLP1 forum where many people are addicted to food.

🎯

 

[Spud82]

Addiction is a disease and it’s unfortunate that there are many people who believe that those who have addiction deserve to die, especially since this is on a GLP1 forum where many people are addicted to food.

👆The most shocking thing to me the past couple of years in the US is the overwhelming amount of people who just hate their fellow man. Sometimes for things they can control and sometimes for things they can't control. Just hate hate hate everywhere....the lack of empathy and deep dive into narcissism.

 

[PackmanJohnny]

rare cali W.

still considered paraphenalia in FL. and Amazon recently updated their terms so they won't ship syringes to my address anymore. relegated to GPZ for all my supplies now.

 

[keangkong]

I hope you were being facetious.

That’s on them. Let natural selection do its thing. They chose that lifestyle.

I am absolutely not being facetious. If we went by natural selection, then I would have already have died due to thyroid cancer. As to choosing that lifestyle, I'm not philosophically opposed to any restrictions that affect one's thinking. But I do want to know that the restriction is overwhelmingly likely to benefit society. Having more people dying of diseases is not a good thing. You also seem to believe that you or your family members won't catch diseases that others caught through drug use. A woman I know (not "know" in the Biblical sense) contracted HIV (and then later got AIDs) by having sex with a person who had used drugs intravenously. Or at least that's how she says she got it. Nelson Mandela is regarded by many people, including myself, as a great man. Yet he chose while leading South Africa to spend little effort fighting AIDs, his son ended up dying of AIDs. I have sympathy for drug addicts. Despite that sympathy, if I thought that requiring prescriptions for syringes would stop them from using controlled substances, I'd support the prescription requirement.

 

[AndyPanda]

Addiction is a disease and it’s unfortunate that there are many people who believe that those who have addiction deserve to die, especially since this is on a GLP1 forum where many people are addicted to food.

Same rewarding dopamine pathway comes from food and other drugs and the hit of dopamine gets your body addicted. Some people use food as a emotional crutch, others alcohol and other hard drugs. There’s also a genetic disposition to addiction that can’t be controlled. I always think that I could be a couple bad events away from being an addict and try to be compassionate. No one wants to be addicted…

What pathogen causes addiction? Seriously, people need to stop with the “food addiction” myth. It’s just another way for people to feel better about their predicament. I was overweight, and you would never catch me out turning tricks for a Pizza and Ice Cream. Nor would you see a bunch of obese people with the work “ethic” of a junkie, on the streets in begging for money for their next fix of high fructose corn syrup. There was a time when I shaved in the shower because I was too disgusted to look mirrors and you would never catch me begging someone for food.

The only reason that it’s called a disease is so Doctors can sell you surgeries, companies can sell you drugs and to keep people unable to stand up against a system and protect people feelings. It’s a diffusion of responsibility to blame other people. Instead of just saying “Hi, I’m AndyPanda and I love me some food and I’m often too lazy to work out… It’s much easier to say I have some sort of affliction to get people to feel bad for, and be nice to me.

I DARE you to go into a clinic where someone is dying of Cancer, Hepatitis, or Huntington’s, look them and their family members straight in the eyes and say “I know what’s it’s like because I too have an uncontrollable disease, I’m obese.

The eating, is a mental health issue, a mental disorder. AKA an eating disorder.

 

[AndyPanda]

I am absolutely not being facetious. If we went by natural selection, then I would have already have died due to thyroid cancer. As to choosing that lifestyle, I'm not philosophically opposed to any restrictions that affect one's thinking. But I do want to know that the restriction is overwhelmingly likely to benefit society. Having more people dying of diseases is not a good thing. You also seem to believe that you or your family members won't catch diseases that others caught through drug use. A woman I know (not "know" in the Biblical sense) contracted HIV (and then later got AIDs) by having sex with a person who had used drugs intravenously. Or at least that's how she says she got it. Nelson Mandela is regarded by many people, including myself, as a great man. Yet he chose while leading South Africa to spend little effort fighting AIDs, his son ended up dying of AIDs. I have sympathy for drug addicts. Despite that sympathy, if I thought that requiring prescriptions for syringes would stop them from using controlled substances, I'd support the prescription requirement.

The point about transmission is valid, but they are still going to share needles and engage in deviant sexual act, passing along the same drugs. I’m willing to bet that if a non-profit is getting money to deploy kits, about 90% of that money is absorbed by their bank accounts before a syringe is bought.

I am not attacking people’s empathy for these situations. It’s a beautiful thing that we as humans possess. People are just misinformed as to the way these NPO and even drug addicts work. They have probably never been around for any length of time and that’s also a good thing.

 

[Varixdos]

You're crazy if you don't eat the crust. No true pizza junkie doesn't eat crusts.

What??? The crust is nothing more than the plunger on the syringe. A necessary means to inject myself with my meat lovers pizza.

 

[PackmanJohnny]

The eating, is a mental health issue, a mental disorder. AKA an eating disorder.

I LOL'd at turning tricks for pizza, which I might not be above some days..

but I agree a lot, I think when people research their health on a deeper level they uncover the obesity problem to be one or both of the mental issue(ED's, trauma response, etc) or metabolic issues, and both are treatable and can be mitigated, but when we only dumb it down and just make it socially acceptable to say you have a 'food addiction' and leave it at that it not only robs people of their agency to improve themselves but it also robs people who are less health-literate of a chance to treat ailments and live longer.

 

[keangkong]

The point about transmission is valid, but they are still going to share needles and engage in deviant sexual act, passing along the same drugs. I’m willing to bet that if a non-profit is getting money to deploy kits, about 90% of that money is absorbed by their bank accounts before a syringe is bought.

I am not attacking people’s empathy for these situations. It’s a beautiful thing that we as humans possess. People are just misinformed as to the way these NPO and even drug addicts work. They have probably never been around for any length of time and that’s also a good thing.

The law that I talked only dealt with (1) the distribution of syringes by pharmacists and doctors and (2) the legalization of possession of them without a prescription by users.

I'm aware that the increased money that California has spent on deal with homelessness hasn't done much, if anything, to improve things.

As to non-profit organizations, some are good. Some are bad and actually result in the personal enrichment of others.

About 25 years ago, I represented a client charged with distributing needles as part of a needle exchange program. The client was one of several people charged with violating the law by participating in the program. None made any money from doing so. There was no formal organization. None had any criminal histories. We brought an expert from the CDC, Peter Lurie, MD, currently the head of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, to testify in order to support a necessity defense. Dr. Lurie, who had published on the subject in the British Medical Journal, testified that studies have not been able to detect a link between needle exchange programs and any increase in intravenous drug use. Eventually, before a jury trial could start, the DA agreed that he would dismiss the case if the defendants did not pick up any new criminal cases. The defendants continued to distribute needles. Six months later, the DA dismissed the case. The defendants in that case were all true believers motivated by a desire to do what they believed to be right.

As to deviant sexual acts, I have trouble finding any acts to be deviant if committed by two mentally competent consenting adults in privacy. I'm sure if I worked on hypotheticals enough, I could come up with some act that I find deviant in those circumstances, but I'd have to work to come up with something. As to sex between gay men - and I think that might be what you're referencing - I have no problem with it. I think a much greater problem would be a gay person trying to pretend an attraction to the opposite sex.