'MORAL ENERGIES'

Soon needle exchange will be in the news again with hearings before the
Fresno County Board of Supervisors and the trial of local volunteers
arrested for doing a job which is legal in major cities around the world.

Some of us moralize about intravenous drug use and want to penalize to
death the addicts, their partners and innocent children. We must put moral
energies into prevention and the social-spiritual environment but, at the
same time, reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS and hepatitis B and C, epidemics
which cross all social and economic lines. How?

The Surgeon General, the Centers for Disease Control and public health
officials across the nation advocate clean needle-exchange programs.

We know that scientific studies prove needle exchange does not promote IV
drug use, that users will ignore law or morality and share contaminated
needles if clean needles are not available, that sharing is a major source
of HIV/AIDS and hepatitis B and C. We also know that Fresno County is four
to five years behind other major California cities in legalizing clean
needle exchange.

What can we do? We can ask our Board of Supervisors to declare a continuing
medical emergency to legalize needle exchange under current state law while
we promote prevention programs for drug users, their partners and children.

Not to do this would be like saying to flood ravaged Venezuelans, "We won't
send you soap unless you stay out of the mud." Fresno can do better than that.

Gaylee Amend, Fresno