Letters

NEEDLE EXCHANGE SUCCESS

Thank you for acknowledging the positive impact that New York's needle
exchange programs have had on reducing the incidence of HIV among
intravenous drug users and their partners ["Winning the War," Aug. 14].

Evidence that the zero tolerance approach to drugs contributes to the
spread of HIV is quite clear. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 58 percent of AIDS cases among American women are
linked to injection drug use or sex with partners who inject drugs.
Overall, 36 percent of AIDS cases in the United States can be traced back
to intravenous drug use.

This easily preventable public health crisis is a direct result of zero
tolerance policies that restrict access to clean syringes. Punitive drug
laws compound the problem by driving use underground. Would alcoholics seek
help for their addiction if doing so were tantamount to confessing to
criminal activity?

In the interest of containing the HIV epidemic, let's hope America's "tough
on drugs" politicians acknowledge the drug war's tremendous collateral
damage sooner rather than later.

Robert Sharpe

Editor's Note: The writer is program officer for the Lindesmith Center-Drug
Policy Foundation. Washington, D.C.