NEEDLES ARE NEEDED

To the editor:

Your Friday, Jan. 17 editorial (Needle exchange programs) was right on target.

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. Look no further than the United
States for tragic examples of anti-drug strategies that are best avoided.

United States Centres for Disease Control researchers estimate that 57 per
cent of AIDS cases among women and 36 per cent 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.

Can Canada afford to emulate the harm maximization drug policies of the
former land of the free and current record holder in citizens incarcerated?

Robert Sharpe, M.P.A., Program Officer, Drug Policy Alliance, Washington,
DC 20005, United States of America

No Canada cannot.