NEEDLE PROGRAMS ARE A FACT OF MODERN LIFE

The city's needle program raises questions from the neighborhood board.

No needle program would raise questions for me. Don't people know that
people are going to use drugs, illegal or not, and prostitute themselves,
illegal or not?

And one interviewee said the needle-exchange program is valuable, but she
doesn't like that it's taking place in the Weed & Seed area and so close to
residential complexes. Not in my back yard? So, where would she think it
would be most effective? Maybe where there are no drug users and no
prostitutes?

I know that all blood-borne illnesses can be stopped if there is no contact
with others' blood. So, what's the problem? We do not live in a perfect
society. Get used to it or do something that will change it. I was always
taught that if I have a problem, then it is my problem; fix it myself. If I
had a problem with where the needles were being exchanged, then I would
figure out a solution. Maybe others should have this attitude, too.

Michael Romack

Pahoa, Hawaii