NEW JERSEY NEEDLE EXCHANGE CREATES CONTRADICTION IN DRUG POLICY

After 13 years of tireless effort and debate, New Jersey has waved
the white flag of surrender to join the other 49 states in their
liberalized views on drug treatment.

Recently, the Democrat-controlled legislature passed a bill sponsored
by several state politicians, including state senators Nia Gill (D)
and soon-to-be retired William L. Gormley (R), for a pilot needle
exchange program.

This will impact six of New Jersey's municipalities, with Camden,
Paterson and Atlantic City already visibly thrilled at its passing.
The "Bloodborne Disease Harm Reduction Act" also contains $10 million
tucked away for drug treatment.

Still awaiting action is a bill permitting the non-prescription sale
of up to 10 syringes through a pharmacy. The Assembly has already
passed the bill, but it has yet to travel through the Senate.

Needle exchange programs create an environment for injection drug
addicts to exchange their used needles for sterile ones. The idea
behind these initiatives is to reduce the spread of diseases like HIV
and hepatitis, which are commonly transported through blood, and to
help with their addiction.

Advocates of easy access to clean syringes in New Jersey, whether
it's through a needle exchange program or a pharmacist, point to many
statistics. The Garden State has the fifth highest amount of HIV
cases and is home to the largest number of women infected with the
disease in the nation. Forty-five percent of all HIV cases were
caused by dirty syringe sharing, and the state's rate of HIV
infection related to the use of contaminated needles is twice the
federal average.

On the national side, 75 percent of AIDS cases involving women and
children are the result, directly or indirectly, of injection drug
use. Thirty-four percent of all AIDS cases come from drug users and
their sexual partners.

No one can dispute the noble aims of these programs. By encouraging
the use of sterile syringes, they are minimizing the deadly threat of
possible illness that lurks behind every plunge of the needle -
despite the lethal drug substance itself, of course.

However, in a country that champions drug abstinence, this is a clear
abandonment of principle.

America has spent hundreds of billions of dollars in trying to
achieve a "drug free" society. D.A.R.E. programs dominate elementary
schools just as "Operation Pipeline" does the major highways by
laying out a drug courier profile in an effort to intercept drug
traffickers. Anti-drug commercials flow through the airways, and the
overall American mentality on drug use is that of decadence and the
tool of degenerates.

By Gov. Jon Corzine signing the "Bloodborne Disease Harm Reduction
Act," New Jersey's government is ultimately turning a blind eye to
heavy drug use. It allows criminals to get a free pass, where they
would otherwise get incarcerated if caught.

The state of New Jersey is now like the infamous "flip-flopper" John
Kerry: Where does it stand on the issue? The government is sitting in
the middle of a seesaw, afraid to have either seat touch the ground;
however, it cannot support both.

There are already many outspoken critics of the "war on drugs,"
claiming it to be a useless, unnecessary and inefficient battle.
Regardless, that is the policy the United States and many other
countries have chosen to take.

But with more and more liberal drug policies, such as this newly
signed act, the "war on drugs" will arguably be hindered even more,
sending drug users subtle approval of their actions.

This piece does not endorse a harsh or lenient policy on drugs, but
seeks to show the hypocrisy in our legislators that sponsored this
bill, while still abiding by firm, existing anti-drug laws. If these
politicians truly support these needle exchange programs, both in New
Jersey and other states, they should begin to fight for less
restrictive laws on drugs.

It is quite possible that some of our elected representatives
secretly disagree with strict drug policies and do not openly defy
them due to the political risk. If this is the case, they need to be
public with it for the betterment of society because America cannot
continue to pump billions of taxpayers' dollars into the "war on
drugs" while at the same time acknowledging a law that tolerates the
very practice it is trying to obliterate. With both being implemented
simultaneously, they work hand-in-hand to undermine the other.

Until New Jersey and America as a whole pick a definite stance on
drugs, these two conflicting views adopted by many governments weaken
the effectiveness at addressing the controversial drug issue.

Information from - drugpolicy.org and nj.gov/governor