Treating Addiction, Saving Lives

NEEDLE EXCHANGE PROGRAM RETURNS TO CITY OF SAN DIEGO

Sex and drugs may be the byproducts of a life of rock 'n' roll, but
in San Diego, using narcotics is high-risk activity that injection
drug users participate in.

To decrease the harms of drug use, such as HIV transmission, the
privately funded needle exchange program in San Diego - one of 150
such exchanges in the country - was reinstated on July 11 after a
year's hiatus.

Those working for the program are telling injection drug users and
others who use their programs, like diabetics and steroid users, that
having sex or doing drugs that involve sharing needles and syringes
increase the likelihood of contracting HIV or Hepatitis C.

The exchange, run by Family Health Centers of San Diego, provides a
way for IDUs, diabetics and steroid users to safely inject their
respective drugs, legal or illegal. Clients can bring in their used
needles and syringes to the program's recreation vehicle twice a week
- - downtown on Thursdays and in North Park on Fridays - during a three
hour period each day. Clients exchange the dirty needles for clean
ones at a one-to-one exchange rate and also receive free counseling
to encourage rehabilitation. The clients have to count the needles
out while a worker watches. He or she will then hand them their new
needles, while the old needles are incinerated within days, according
to the FHCSD.

"It's better than throwing needles on the streets," said Adrian
Kwiatkowski, Monger Company employee and liaison between the city and
Alliance Health Care Foundation (the funding providers for the
program). "You could be walking along the beach and step on a needle
and catch (diseases) that way.

"Hepatitis C can live in a needle and syringe for up to 10 hours, HIV
lasts for about one hour."

The program's ultimate goals include lowering the transmission rates
of HIV and Hepatitis C through shared needles, as well as educating
addicts so that they will want to seek rehabilitation, Kwiatkowski said.

The age range of clients is from 18 to 86 years old, he said.

"I know college-aged kids come to the exchange, and it's possible
they could be IDUs too," Kwiatkowski said.

San Diego State Alcohol and Other Drug Initiatives educator Sue Henry
said for students to limit their risk of catching HIV and other
diseases, they should limit their number of sex partners, use
condoms, only drink alcohol in moderation and not use drugs, as these
impair judgment or may create pathways to becoming an IDU.

"About 25 to 35 percent of SDSU students abuse alcohol by binge
drinking, putting themselves at risk" Henry said.

The exchange has been in San Diego since July of 2002; however, on
July 18, 2005, the program did not receive approval from the City
Council of San Diego after it lost two members, Michael Zucchet and
Ralph Inzunza, who always voted in favor of the exchange. The
exchange didn't receive support again until Mayor Jerry Sanders and
new city council members Kevin Faulconer and Ben Hueso all voted in
favor of the reinstatement of the program.

State law has recently changed its requirements for hosting needle
exchange programs in California. Each city or county hosting a
program used to need to declare a state of emergency every few weeks.
Now the law gives the cities and counties more control over their
programs; they only have to declare a state of emergency once and the
program will end if or when the city decides to revoke it, Kwiatkowski said.

Though the ease of keeping the program delighted many, not all San
Diegans are behind the program, some find it counterproductive.

"Jerry Sanders is certainly someone who has dealt with a lot of
issues as police chief," said Damon Mosler, deputy district attorney
for the Narcotics Unit of San Diego County. "I'll be dubiously
optimistic. I just don't see it as a positive.

"I'm just not certain that the concept is a good concept by accepting
the drug use."

Kwiatkowski argues that programs like this have been tried in other
states, cities and counties in California and their studies indicate
that over a period of five to 10 years, the percentages of drug use,
the spread of HIV and Hepatitis C decreased. The San Diego exchange
has collected more needles than it's taken in since 2002, which may
be evidence that the program is working.

"Our clientele dropped off by 95 percent last year (when the program
lost support)" he added.

No one wanted to get counseling when they weren't getting clean
needles in return, Kwiatkowski said.

Mosler worries that when there are clean needles given to addicts,
they will just share them anyway or the program will just encourage
them to keep using.

"I think it's good to get counselors out there, if it can be shown
that some people turn the corner because of it, even if it's just a
handful, then it's probably worth it," Mosler said. "But just the
concept of saying, 'If you're gonna do drugs then do it safely'
doesn't seem like a good idea to me."

The FHCSD hopes to set up exchanges in more areas in San Diego that
have a large need for an exchange program, Kwiatkowski said. Specific
areas of interest include Ocean Beach and City Heights, an area in
close proximity to SDSU.