Should Cities Fund Needle Exchange Programs?

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IDUs (injection drug users) have been one of the main behavioral risks for HIV disease, viral hepatitis B/C, and overdose and cities who have supported such efforts have shown more impact in preventing the spread of these conditions over the last 20 years worldwide.

Worldwide, those areas which have adopted syringe exchange early and with earnest have been more successful in avoiding spread of HIV among people injecting.

While the federal government in the US has not contributed a penny to syringe exchange to date -- it was only within the last year that Congress allowed the District of Columbia to use their own money to support syringe exchange -- State, County and City governments have risen to the call of science and compassion and meet public health goals by both funding syringe exchange and allowing greater access to syringes in pharmacies. 

The research data about the effectiveness of these efforts has developed to the level of community reductions in HIV spread among people injecting and thus, significant reductions in newly developed AIDS cases among IDUs.  As well, recent evidence suggests there are more effective ways to run syringe exchange.  For instance, giving people as many syringes as they need for themselves and those around them is much more helpful than limiting syringes obtained.