San Diego AIDS activists vowed Monday to expand their program of distributing needles and collecting used ones from drug addicts--an action that flies in the face of Gov. Wilson's recent veto of a bill to legalize needle exchanges.

Members of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) have pounded the sidewalks for almost a year, taking used hypodermic needles and offering sterile ones to those considered among the hardest hit and most difficult to reach in the AIDS epidemic: intravenous drug users. Howard Rogers and other volunteers waged the illicit campaign in hopes of curbing the spread of the AIDS virus, which is readily transmitted with the sharing of contaminated needles. Last week, however, Wilson put the kibosh on any prospect of making such programs legal, an action that activists say will only fuel their work.

"I have made a commitment to expand our program in light of the governor's veto," said Rogers, a 33-year-old former addict and member of ACT UP. "We want to reach more people. We're just reaching the most vulnerable--the street people, those who don't have anything else."

Rogers and ACT UP's "clean needle exchange team" hit the streets every weekend, mostly in Southeast and central San Diego. As part of their expansion, they hope to move into other neighborhoods and possibly go out on additional days. They have already launched a program to exchange sterile needles for used ones on an individual basis when people call up.

"We have a lot of people who come to us privately," said Ben Schultz, a member of ACT UP. "They call and say we need needles. It's much nicer, you don't have to be out on the street."

Possession of syringes--or "works" as they are called on the street--without prescription can be punished by up to a year in jail or a $1,000 fine. AIDS activists have quietly flaunted the law in hopes of reducing transmission of the AIDS virus among drug addicts. And so far, there have been no arrests.

Even last June, when activists presented a jar of 1,100 used needles to county officials and practically begged police to arrest them, the police declined to comply.

"We are not going to make a concerted effort to find this needle exchange program. If police officers come across illegal drug or needle activity in alleys, they will arrest people," said Dave Cohen, a San Diego police spokesman.