Governor Jerry Brown (D–Calif.) has signed a law that authorizes the sale of clean syringes to adults at pharmacies statewide without a prescription, according to a San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF) statement. Advocates say the law will go a long way to stop the spread of HIV and hepatitis C, two of the most commonly transmitted blood-borne diseases among people who share syringes. In California, about 750 people get HIV every year from a shared syringe. Studies have shown that improved syringe access can reduce the rates of HIV transmission without increasing rates of drug use or crime.

To read the SFAF statement, click here.