Needle exchange project worker Jason Roberts said: "These dealers were seeking out people who were clean or in recovery in order to sell more heroin.
but "dirty" needles spread the disease, should corrections "condone" the drug use by providing bleach to clean the needles or by having a
needle exchange program?
Founded in 1994 by two members of the Clean Needles Now
needle exchange in Hollywood, the group have since grown to four, released almost a dozen CDs and vinyl recordings, performed at international music festivals, produced commissioned broadcasts for European radio, and exhibited sound installations in numerous shows in the US and abroad.
In a letter to President Bush, the group cites media reports that officials in the Department of Health and Human Services have told prospective grant applicants to avoid controversial terms such as "commercial sex workers" and "
needle exchange." The GLMA is inviting health care providers and others to add their names to the letter; which can be found at www.gayhealth.com/templates/0/glama/letter.html.
The federal government has said that
needle exchange programs--where injection drug users exchange used needles for sterile syringes--does not promote drug abuse.
Considerable evidence shows that (a) injection drug users (IDUs) actively seek and respond to health information; (b) IDUs, in some cases, have organized and engaged in high-risk activism to protect the lives and interests of drug users; (c) IDUs have been active volunteers in street outreach and needle-exchange operations, encouraging other users to participate in
needle exchange and related risk-reduction programs; and (d) knowledgeable IDUs have provided information about health maintenance and risk reduction to other users outside of the needle-exchange setting.
The most controversial section of the bill, the
needle exchange program, has finally been settled.
Yeah, we got a better chance of Pat Robertson advocating a
needle exchange program.
Still, some significant voices once hostile to
needle exchange have recently thrown their support behind these programs.
A SOUTH Warwickshire charity has said no final decision has been made on whether a new floating advice centre for young people will house a
needle exchange programme for drug users.
Needle exchange programs aimed at reducing HIV transmission in injectable drug users have grown in number, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
As just one example, consider the case of
needle exchange. Forty percent of new AIDS cases reported in 1992 (24,000 in total) came from infection through use of dirty needles.