IN SUPPORT OF NEEDLE EXCHANGE PROGRAMS

Mary Smith of Concerned Citizens For Drug Prevention, Inc., misleads
readers with her comments on needle exchange programs (Hanover
Mariner, Jan. 18).

Needle exchange programs are supported by the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, the National Academy of Sciences, the
American Medical Association, the American Bar Association and the
American Public Health Association. They have been proven to reduce
the spread of HIV without increasing drug use. Needle exchange
programs also serve as a bridge to drug treatment for an especially
hard to reach population.

Drug users are not the only beneficiaries. U.S. Centers for Disease
Control researchers estimate that 57 percent of AIDS cases among
women and 36 percent of overall AIDS cases in the U.S. are linked to
injection drug use or sex with partners who inject drugs. This easily
preventable public health crisis is a direct result of zero tolerance
laws that restrict access to clean syringes. In the interest of
containing the HIV epidemic, let's hope tough-on-drugs politicians in
Congress acknowledge the drug war's tremendous collateral damage
sooner rather than later.

CDC stats can be verified at:

www.cdc.gov/hiv/pubs/facts/idu.htm

Organizations supporting syringe access: American Medical
Association, American Public Health Association, National Academy of
Sciences, American Bar Association:

Robert Sharpe, MPA Policy Analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy