Needle Exchange Programs

Needle exchange programs, by increasing the availability of sterile injection equipment, become an important technique in reducing HIV infection among the population of injecting drug users. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Research Council (NRC) have shown that needle exchange programs do not increase the frequency of drug use among existing and do not increase the number of new drug injectors. The conclusions of these studies have recently been confirmed by a Consensus Panel of the National Institutes of Health. Needle exchange programs involving drug counseling and drug treatment program referrals hold the promise of actually reducing drug abuse.

Drug treatment programs should be a component of any needle exchange program because drug treatment programs provide the most effective means of reducing drug dependency. The trust that is developed in community based needle exchange programs enhances the likelihood of injecting drug users participating in HIV prevention and counseling, taking advantage of referrals to social and medical services, and actually entering into drug treatment programs. In addition to significant savings of public funds resulting from reduced HIV infection, needle exchange programs remove infected needles from playgrounds, streets and trash receptacles, thereby protecting children, sanitation workers and others from needle sticks. Law enforcement officers, who inevitably come in contact with hypodermic needles while performing narcotic arrests, will benefit from the clean needles distributed through needle exchange programs and the resulting reduction