By Elizabeth White
Associated Press
Monday, May 5, 2008

SAN ANTONIO -- People who possess drug paraphernalia as part of a needle-exchange program can be prosecuted, the Texas attorney general's office said Monday, clearing the way for a case involving three activists who passed out clean syringes to move forward.

The office released the opinion in response to a request from state Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, who asked whether participants in a pilot needle-exchange program authorized in Bexar County would be subject to criminal prosecution.

"Participants in the program may, in the discretion of the prosecutor, be prosecuted under the Texas Controlled Substances Act," read the opinion signed by Attorney General Greg Abbott.

Wentworth said he was disappointed in the opinion.

He said it was not the Legislature's intent for participants to be prosecuted.

Read the entire article HERE [1].