POINT OF ORDER

REGARDING WILLIAM MARTIN'S thoughtful April column "The Damage Done,"
needle exchanges 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
estimated in 2002 that 57 percent of AIDS cases among women and 36
percent of overall AIDS cases in the U.S. were 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 the Texas Legislature
acknowledges the drug war's tremendous collateral damage sooner
rather than later.

Robert Sharpe

Common Sense For Drug Policy

Washington, D.C.