Who do Syringe Exchange Programs Help
Who do Syringe Exchange Programs Help
Who do Syringe Exchange Programs Help
Syringe exchange programs are where injection drug users can bring their used needles and exchange them for new needles. This is a controversial issue with most Americans. On the one hand the opinion is that you are helping a drug user, on the other you are protecting the innocent who may be affected unknowingly. Syringe exchange programs will take a used syringe and exchange it so the drug user has a new sterile needle to continue using drugs. Injecting drugs is a main cause of the spreading of disease. The idea is to save lives by letting drug users have new clean needles to inject drugs with so they do not feel the need to share needles. This could save the lives of the drug users and their families, as well as those that they have sexual intercourse with. The transmission of HIV among IDU’s would go down if users could exchange contaminated needles for sterilized equipment (Jacobson, 2006).
Because injection drug users have a hard time finding new needles, they resort to injecting themselves with used needles, putting their health at risk. Recently, programs like this have been established worldwide in an effort to prevent the spread of diseases, such as HIV. Until the 1970’s needles could be purchased without a prescription and without limits on quantities. Syringes were sold next to marijuana paraphernalia at “head shops” (stores selling materials utilized by drug users) in many cities across the country. From the 1970’s into 1980’s most states criminalized the possession or sale of syringes without a prescription. As it became recognized that dirty needles were a main cause of HIV transmission, in the late 1980’s, syringe exchange programs began in some cities, like New Haven, Connecticut; Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco and New York City (Jacobson, 2006). According to Needle Exchange and Harm Reduction
Who do Syringe Exchange Programs Help
Syringe exchange programs are where injection drug users can bring their used needles and exchange them for new needles. This is a controversial issue with most Americans. On the one hand the opinion is that you are helping a drug user, on the other you are protecting the innocent who may be affected unknowingly. Syringe exchange programs will take a used syringe and exchange it so the drug user has a new sterile needle to continue using drugs. Injecting drugs is a main cause of the spreading of disease. The idea is to save lives by letting drug users have new clean needles to inject drugs with so they do not feel the need to share needles. This could save the lives of the drug users and their families, as well as those that they have sexual intercourse with. The transmission of HIV among IDU’s would go down if users could exchange contaminated needles for sterilized equipment (Jacobson, 2006).
Because injection drug users have a hard time finding new needles, they resort to injecting themselves with used needles, putting their health at risk. Recently, programs like this have been established worldwide in an effort to prevent the spread of diseases, such as HIV. Until the 1970’s needles could be purchased without a prescription and without limits on quantities. Syringes were sold next to marijuana paraphernalia at “head shops” (stores selling materials utilized by drug users) in many cities across the country. From the 1970’s into 1980’s most states criminalized the possession or sale of syringes without a prescription. As it became recognized that dirty needles were a main cause of HIV transmission, in the late 1980’s, syringe exchange programs began in some cities, like New Haven, Connecticut; Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco and New York City (Jacobson, 2006). According to Needle Exchange and Harm Reduction