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Conclusions: Risk behaviour appears to be driven by difficulty accessing needles, bingeing, and frequent cocaine injection. Since acquisition of syringes from NEPs and residence in proximity to needle exchange programs were associate with a substantial reduction in high-risk sharing, expanding needle exchange and removing syringe limits may have substantial harm reducing effects. However, the data also suggest that the elevated injection frequency and bingeing associated with injected cocaine can hinder the protective effects of NEPs. In this context, the need for comprehensive harm reduction strategies is underscored.

well yes, death is a nasty side effect of heroin....one more reason NOT to use that shit.

personally, I think an OD death is darwinism at its finest. some are just not meant for this world - who are we to stand in the way?

Medical help withheld form junkies. They are already on a self destructive path...allow them to continue.

Drugs sellers might be "hooked" on their own crap...then locked up without medical care to "beat the habit"....repeat that a few times, then release them. I am sure the withdrawl would make them think twice before selling again...but, then again, no underestimating human stupidity and greed.

This makes about as much sense as telling your child not to have sex, and then letting the school hand out free condoms.

If these people need to have a needle exchange program, they have a lot larger problem than just contracting diseases from dirty needles. In a way if they just leave these people alone, natual selection will take over. Problem solved.

I think its a good idea, maybe we cold provide brown paper bags and shot glasses to all the alcoholics as well,

and we could provide magazines and DVD's to all the people with sex addictions,

free passes to all the buffet's in town to all the people with food addictions...

this is enabling....

the argument about health issues and what not is relevant but when you get down to it this sends the wrong kind of message to addicts...

If someone is talking about killing themselves, and I say "no don't kill yourself" and then promptly leave a loaded pistol on their nightstand, I am telling them no don't do it, but my actions say yes do it. Same thing with the needle exchange program. If you are giving them free needles, then you are part of the problem, not the solution.

Does needle exchange reduce the spread of HIV? Encourage drug use?
It is possible to significantly limit HIV transmission among IDUs. One study looked at five cities with IDU populations where HIV prevalence had remained low. Glasgow, Scotland; Lund, Sweden; New South Wales, Australia; Tacoma, WA; and Toronto, Ontario, all had the following prevention components: beginning prevention activities when levels of HIV infection were still low; providing sterile injection equipment including through NEPs; and conducting community outreach to IDUs. 10
A study of 81 cities around the world compared HIV infection rates among IDUs in cities that had NEPs with cities that did not have NEPs. In the 52 cities without NEPs, HIV infection rates increased by 5.9% per year on average. In the 29 cities with NEPs, HIV infection rates decreased by 5.8% per year. The study concluded that NEPs appear to lead to lower levels of HIV infection among IDUs. 11

In San Francisco, CA, the effects of an NEP were studied over a five-year period. The NEP did not encourage drug use either by increasing drug use among current IDUs, or by recruiting significant numbers of new or young IDUs. On the contrary, from December 1986 through June 1992, injection frequency among IDUs in the community decreased from 1.9 injections per day to 0.7, and the percentage of new initiates into injection drug use decreased from 3% to 1%. 12

Hundreds of other studies of NEPs have been conducted, and all have been summarized in a series of eight federally funded reports dating back to 1991. Each of the eight reports has concluded that NEPs can reduce the number of new HIV infections and do not appear to lead to increased drug use among IDUs or in the general community. 13-15 These were the two criteria that by law had to be met before the federal ban on NEP service funding could be lifted. This is a degree of unanimity on the interpretation of research findings unusual in science. Five of the studies recommended that the federal ban be lifted and two made no recommendations. In the eighth report the Department of Health and Human Services decided that the two criteria had been met, but failed to lift the ban. 15 The Congress has since changed the law, continuing to ban federal funding for NEPs, regardless of whether the criteria are met.

For those of you with the cavalier attitudes about the real human suffering of others, give thanks it isn't you, because truly very very little sepparates us for all our condemnation of others - how well do you think any one of us would cope with multiple pack rape or the horrors some of these human beings have survived?
Hold your stones and your comments because drugs affects everyone of us in some way, spare a thought for the parents on here, you don't know how lucky you are, you should be ashamed of yourselves. Imagine how you would feel as a parent reading some of these comments on here, or a young person who has just lost a friend. A warm safe home sure can make some of us incredibly self righteous.