Needle ban dangerous

Denver Mayor Wellington Webb took a brave stance when he announced his desire
to launch a needleexchange program.

Webb says he worried for years that needle exchanges send the wrong message
to young people.

But the enormous success of such programs in preventing HIV infections has
changed his mind.

He isn't alone. Donna Shalala, secretary of U.S. Health and Human Services,
reported this year that needle exchanges significantly slow the spread of
AIDS from drug addict to sexual partner to unborn baby.

It wasn't news. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control urged in 1993 that the
ban on needle exchanges be lifted. From the National Commission on AIDS to
the American Medical Association, all agree that needle exchanges save lives.

Research has debunked the myth that doling out free, clean syringes to
addicts will spur more intravenous drug use. Indeed, the programs help
inhibit drug use as health workers encourage addicts to seek rehabilitation.

But while the medical and scientific communities grasp that concept, it's a
tough sell to politicians.

It shouldn't be. If one HIV carrier infects eight others, and they all rely
on Medicaid, the taxpayers shell out about $1 million.

It's also a tough sell to law enforcement. And as long as Colorado law
forbids possession of drug paraphernalia, Denver District Attorney Bill
Ritter won't condone needle exchanges.

While Webb says he'll propose a city needleexchange ordinance, no program
can be launched unless one of two things happens.

* The legislature would need to legalize needle exchanges. The best chance
for that was this year. But House Republicans defeated a Democratbacked
needleexchange bill, despite unanimous support by the Colorado Board of
Health.

Webb says he'll push for new legislation and testify for it at the
statehouse. But next year is an election year, so a legislative change of
heart is unlikely.

* Ritter would have to decide to emulate Boulder District Attorney Alex
Hunter, who doesn't prosecute people involved in the Boulder County
needleexchange program. Of the 100 people who contract HIV in Colorado from
IV drug use every year, 90 to 95 live in Denver, but Ritter says he'll
continue to prosecute anyone possessing drug paraphernalia until the state
law is changed.

"I look at the law as something I am there to enforce," he says. "I try to
commit my resources to those issues that are most important... But if a
person was picked up for drug paraphernalia, they would be prosecuted."

Ritter says, however, that he is willing to discuss the issue again with Webb
and Police Chief David Michaud.

With the public health stakes so high, Webb's stance is commendable. But
without support, his efforts may go nowhere. For this community, that's a
deadly mistake.