NEEDLE EXCHANGE PROGRAMS HELP REDUCE SPREAD OF HIV

Thank you for making the case for needle exchange programs in your
March 10 editorial.

Needle exchange programs have been proven to reduce the spread of HIV
without increasing drug use. They 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 acknowledge the drug war's tremendous
collateral damage sooner rather than later.

CDC stats can be verified at:

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

ROBERT SHARPE

Washington

The writer is a policy analyst for Common Sense for Drug Policy,
www.csdp.org, in Washington, D.C.