(a) The City and County of San Francisco has declared that a public health emergency exists in connection with the AIDS epidemic and the high rate of HIV infection among injection drug users and the corresponding high rate of transmission of the disease. The Department of Public Health is implementing a needle exchange program in order to prevent the further spread of HIV infection.
(b) Replicas of hypodermic syringes containing a red liquid are now being sold and possessed in the City and County of San Francisco. Many of the replicas are actually pens and pencils, or pieces of jewelry. The replicas are a serious public safety concern because there is no clear way to distinguish between real syringes and the replicas except on extremely close inspection. The replicas endanger the HIV education process by desensitizing persons to the seriousness of syringes.
(c) Replica syringes may also be frightening to persons who do not know if the syringes are real or replicas. Replica syringes may, as a result, be used in a manner that may be taken as threatening or dangerous, and may result in unwarranted responses that may likewise by threatening or dangerous. The replica or facsimile hypodermic needles or syringes and their public display are, as a result, potentially threatening to persons in the community and to the safety and welfare of the general public.
(Added by Ord. 136-93, App. 5/17/93)