Tackling barriers to over-the-counter syringe access in community pharmacies.

A recent study in Harm Reduction Journal, "Pharmacy-related syringe access barriers: an audit of Oregon community pharmacies", reveals significant gaps in over-the-counter (OTC) syringe availability across community pharmacies in Oregon. These findings have urgent public health implications: without consistent pharmacy access, people who inject drugs (PWID) face increased risk of HIV, hepatitis C, and other injection-related harms. We examine possible factors that may be contributing to these gaps, including pharmacist stigma, administrative challenges, gaps in awareness surrounding state laws and community resources, and restrictive organizational policies. Addressing these gaps requires a multipronged approach: targeted pharmacist education on OTC syringe regulations, stigma-reduction training, streamlined workflow and administrative processes, and organization-level commitment to harm reduction. Oregon's experience illustrates a broader national issue: without aligning policy with provider engagement, many critical harm reduction tools will remain inaccessible to marginalized populations.