The House Public Health Committee heard from advocates for harm reduction supporting an extension of a law passed in 2021 to legalize needle exchange programs in an interim study Thursday.

Rep. Daniel Pae, R-Lawton, coauthored Senate Bill 511 in 2021, which authorized programs that register with the Oklahoma State Department of Health to distribute and collect hypodermic needles, cleaning and test kits, and opioid antagonists if no state dollars are used. However, the law passed with a five-year sunset, meaning it will sunset in 2026.

Pae said he requested an interim study on the effects of SB511 to learn about the ongoing efforts to invest in harm reduction and currently available data on the programs in time to take action before the bill expires.

"I believe harm reduction programs not only save lives, but ultimately save the state money," Pae said. "Since Senate Bill 511 is set to sunset in a few years, I wanted to start the conversation now about the outcome of these programs and how we can best support our community partners fighting the good fight across the state."

Brittany Hayes, policy director at Healthy Minds Initiative, said harm reduction aims to minimize the negative outcomes associated with substance use, such as the spread of diseases. While harm reduction programs promote safer use, Hayes said the most important part of harm reduction is meeting people where they are.

"If a person comes to you, that's a first step," Hayes said. "You need to meet them where they are. Not everybody is ready to step into a treatment facility day one. Not everybody is ready to step into a treatment facility year three."

Hayes shared data on Oklahoma's syringe service programs (SSPs), which was self-reported by four harm reduction organizations from 2022 to 2024. Over those two years, the organizations distributed 25,125 naloxone kits, which included two doses each, and self-reported 1,212 overdose reversals from naloxone they distributed.

The organizations also referred 1,528 clients for services, such as substance use education or testing for HIV and STIs.

One of those clients was Tamra Graham, who told the committee about her personal experience with harm reduction services. She was prescribed opioids after surgery, which ultimately led into a decade-long struggle with addiction.

"I’m a wife, I'm a mother, but most importantly, I'm alive," said Graham, who has been clean for a year and a half.

Graham said while ready access to clean needles reduced her risk of diseases, they also kept her connected with community resources available to help when she was ready to quit her addiction.

"Having access to clean syringes did not enable my drug use but helped put my mind at ease knowing I would be safe from most diseases common in IV substance use, such as hepatitis C or HIV," Graham said. "When seeking services from Shred the Stigma, I was never pressured to practice abstinence, which made me feel more in control of my substance use, but I knew when I was ready to start my recovery journey, that they would be there to provide support and resources for me to do so."

Graham is now a program assistant at Shred the Stigma, the same harm reduction organization that initially provided her with hypodermic needles and, later, with resources to seek treatment.

Between 2022 and 2024, Oklahoma's four harm reduction organizations served 8,896 clients and distributed 578,330 syringes. Hayes told the committee that one of the outcomes they anticipate is that syringe exchange programs will lead to a significant decrease in HIV and Hepatitis C (HCV) cases. Both diseases can spread through shared needles.

Hayes noted that in 2022, Oklahoma ranked among the top seven states in the U.S. with the highest rural burden of HIV, with each case costing the state nearly $510,000 a lifetime. That same year, Oklahoma also had the highest rate of new HCV infections.

"When we’re talking about syringe exchange programs, access to safe injection kits decreases rates of disease, and we hope that’s the story that Oklahoma's SSP program will be able to tell when the data is more complete," Hayes said.

Pae said he intended to file legislation next year to remove or extend SB511's sunset date.