Illinois law mandates pharmacies to sell needles, sparking safety debate
[August 21, 2025]
By Catrina Barker | The Center Square contributor
(The Center Square) – The Illinois Governor has signed House Bill 2589,
which requires pharmacists to sell sterile hypodermic needles to
patients who need them for medication.
Essentially, the law shifts the sale from a discretionary choice to a
required, health-guided practice. It takes effect Jan. 1, 2026.
Supporters say the law ensures safe access and reduces disease risks,
while critics warn it could make needles easier to obtain for illegal
drug use and create public safety concerns. State Rep. John Cabello,
R-Machesney Park, and a handful of Republicans in the House never voted
on the measure.
“It shouldn’t just be where you can walk into a pharmacy and get up to
100 needles,” Cabello said. “There should be some proof that it’s for
legitimate medical use.”
A handful of Republicans in the Senate voted “no.” Former Democrat
candidate for the 40th Senate District, Kimberly Earling, whose family
has been personally affected by drug addiction, said the law could have
prevented her daughter from contracting hepatitis C, emphasizing that
safe access to clean needles can lower mortality rates and disease risks
for intravenous drug users.
“An addict is going to use whether the needles are available or not,”
Earling said. “Yes, it enables them, but it also prevents a lower
mortality rate because they're in a safe environment. No matter where
she [her daughter Samantha] went to use, I was able to provide Narcan
and clean needles to ensure she was in the safest environment possible."
Pharmacists can still exercise professional judgment, providing
counseling or referrals instead of relying on discretionary judgment.
The law replaces the previous “may” with “shall,” making the sale
mandatory for anyone 18 or older.
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Illinois state Rep. John Cabello, R-Machesney Park - Greg Bishop /
The Center Square
Cabello, a law enforcement officer, never voted on the measure, but
stressed that additional safeguards, such as requiring a
prescription for larger quantities, could help prevent potential
abuse.
"My fear is that the needles could fall into the wrong hands and be
used to shoot up illicit drugs,” said Cabello.
Earling, challenged incumbent state Sen. Patrick Joyce in part due
to the district’s growing drug problem.
"Samantha actually contracted hepatitis C from sharing needles
because, when she first started using, clean needles weren’t
accessible. In the early 2000s, the law changed so people could walk
into a pharmacy to obtain sterile needles," said Earling. "I think
more could be done at the state level if they required an
in-hospital inpatient stay or a one-week detox, something along
those lines, rather than just monitoring vitals and giving a
brochure."
In Illinois, the prescription requirement for purchasing hypodermic
needles was removed on July 25, 2003, when Gov. Rod Blagojevich
signed Senate Bill 880 into law.
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