New York State pharmacists' attitudes toward needle and syringe sales to injection drug users before implementation of syringe deregulation.

In May 2000, New York State passed legislation permitting the sale, purchase, and possession of up to 10 needles and syringes without a prescription. The law is intended to reduce the transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis among injection drug users (IDUs), their sexual partners, and their children. To obtain baseline information about the attitudes and likely practices of New York State pharmacists, we distributed a self-administered questionnaire to attendees of the state pharmacy association meeting in June 2000. Of 48 usable responses, 19% were from New York City and the rest from New York State. Of the 48, 42% were unaware of the new law before the day of the survey, and 60% were somewhat or very willing to sell needles and syringes to an IDU. Of those who were not willing to sell to an IDU, 82% cited familiarity of the customer as a very important consideration in their decision making. Those who were not willing to sell to an IDU were more concerned about the detrimental impact of syringe sales on the community, were less likely to be aware of the new law, and were more likely to be concerned about legal liability for syringe sales. Over 80% of all pharmacists believed that syringe sales to IDUs are an important preventive health measure. The majority also favored learning more about the law. Compared to other state surveys of pharmacists, these preliminary data show a similar level of interest in becoming involved with syringe availability programs.

New York City pharmacists' attitudes toward sale of needles/syringes to injection drug users before implementation of law expanding syringe access.

In May 2000, New York State passed legislation permitting the sale, purchase, and possession of up to 10 needles and syringes (hereafter "syringes") without a prescription, intended to reduce blood-borne pathogen transmission among injection drug users (IDUs). To obtain baseline data on pharmacists' attitudes and practices related to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention and IDUs, a telephone survey was administered to 130 pharmacists systematically selected in New York City. Less than half of pharmacists were aware of the new law; 49.6% were willing to or supported providing nonprescription sales of syringes to IDUs. Pharmacists in support tended to be less likely to consider customer appearance "very important." Managing and supervising pharmacists were more likely than staff pharmacists to support syringe sales to IDUs. Managing and supervising pharmacists who stocked packs of 10 syringes and personal sharps disposal containers, pharmacists who supported syringe exchange in the pharmacy, and pharmacists who were willing to sell syringes to diabetics without a prescription were more likely to support syringe sales to IDUs. Syringe disposal was a prominent concern among all pharmacists. Those not in support of syringe sales to IDUs tended to be more likely to believe the practice would increase drug use. These data suggest the need for initiatives to address concerns about syringe disposal and tailored continuing education classes for pharmacists on HIV and viral hepatitis prevention among IDUs.

Anatomical basis for cannabinoid-induced antinociception as revealed by intracerebral microinjections.

Cannabinoids suppress behavioral and neurophysiological responses to noxious stimuli in rodents when administered systemically. The purpose of this study was to extend previous studies of the site of cannabinoid analgesia. Rats were tested in the tail flick test before and after microinjections of the cannabinoid agonist WIN55, 212-2 (5 microg) into one of 17 different brain regions. WIN55,212-2 significantly elevated tail-flick latencies when injected into the amygdala, the lateral posterior and submedius regions of the thalamus, the superior colliculus and the noradrenergic A5 region. By contrast, pain behavior was unaffected by microinjections of the cannabinoid into the other 11 areas examined (prefrontal cortex, nucleus accumbens, lateral hypothalamus, substantia nigra, cuneiform nucleus, anterior pretectal, intralaminar, parafasicular, posterior, thalamic nuclei, as well as the ventral medial, ventral lateral nuclei in the posterior thalamus).

An examination of the central sites of action of cannabinoid-induced antinociception in the rat.

Microinjections of low doses of the potent and selective cannabinoids WIN 55,212-2 and CP 55,940 into the lateral ventricle produce long-lasting reduction in sensitivity to noxious thermal stimuli (1). To determine the central distribution of ventricularly administered WIN 55,212-2, we microinjected an analgesic dose of the drug with [3H]WIN 55,212-2. At the peak time of antinociception, the radiolabeled drug was confined to periventricular sites throughout the brain. The contribution of particular periventricular structures to the antinociceptive effect was evaluated using intracerebral microinjection techniques and the tail-flick test. Guide cannulae were implanted above the following periventricular structures: the medial septal area, lateral habenlua, perihypothalamic area, arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus, dorsal raphe nucleus and the dorsolateral and ventrolateral aspects of the periaqueductal gray. Microinjections of WIN 55,212-2 (5 micrograms/0.5 microliter) into the medial septal area, lateral habenula, perihypothalamic area, arcuate nucleus, and ventrolateral periaqueductal gray did not significantly affect tail-flick latencies. By contrast, microinjections of WIN 55,212-2 into the dorsolateral periaqueductal gray and the dorsal raphe significantly elevated tail-flick latencies. The results of this study indicate that at least two periventricular structures within the brain are involved in cannabinoid antinociception.