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News & ArtsFriday, December 18, 2009
Drugs Feds Lift Ban On Needle Exchange
Posted by Dan Savage on Fri, Dec 18, 2009 at 7:52 AM
A little progress flies in under the radar courtesy of the Dem majorities in Congress...
After two decades, Congress has voted to lift a ban on federal funding of needle exchange programs. AIDS activists are cheering the move, saying it legitimizes needle exchange in the nationwide fight against HIV/AIDS.
President Obama wanted to keep the ban on federal dollars for needle exchange programs despite the fact that needle exchange programs save lives without encouraging drug use—and despite the fact that candidate Obama promised to lift the ban.
1
Sadly, this kind of move probably won't stop black women from becoming the largest infected group in the united states within the next decade.
2
YAY!
Needle exchanges are a terrific public health resource.
Now if only individual communities would quit banning them...
Needle exchanges are a terrific public health resource.
Now if only individual communities would quit banning them...
3
What the fuck is up with Obama becoming such a bullshitter?
He really thinks we are stupid. And maybe we are.
He really thinks we are stupid. And maybe we are.
5
One would have thought that these pathetic idiots shooting drugs would have been so scared of AIDS from needles that their numbers would be decreasing all this time. Such is the satanic power if heroin.
6
Hey raindrop, thanks for that milk of human compassion there. You obviously know nothing about addiction. Yes, it's hell. No, Satan has nothing to do with it.
How about that Obama, huh? Jeez, could he get any stinkier....? And this is what we get for trying to elect change? Oy.
How about that Obama, huh? Jeez, could he get any stinkier....? And this is what we get for trying to elect change? Oy.
7
Not Satanic, dear raindrop, merely physiological. It's the same process that keeps gah-zillions of smokers seeking out their next hit of sweet, sweet nicotine.
But addicts are so driven that not AIDS, not Lung Cancer and a full schedule of other diseases, not social stigma, not criminalization and lengthy minimum sentences and not a statistically guaranteed reduction in lifespan are enough incentive to slow down.
It is, really, madness, and unless we want heroin keep hitting us as hard as it did the Chinese Empire, we need to treat it as such.
But addicts are so driven that not AIDS, not Lung Cancer and a full schedule of other diseases, not social stigma, not criminalization and lengthy minimum sentences and not a statistically guaranteed reduction in lifespan are enough incentive to slow down.
It is, really, madness, and unless we want heroin keep hitting us as hard as it did the Chinese Empire, we need to treat it as such.
8
No, not Satan - the White Lady, and she's the one true love of your life. There's no cure for that love. Oh, you can quit, but she's still always there.
9
@6 No, this is what we get for erroneously convincing ourselves that a true progressive could occupy the White House in our lifetimes. Sucks, but it's true.
10
Aww , just in time, just when so many states are having to face budget cuts and insolvency issues, Congress comes in to the rescue!
By providing federal funds (your tax payer dollars) for syringe exchange.
This is precisely what we need now, to help increase substance abuse.
Because popping and snorting got nothing on shooting substances to your system.
12
Its only one year in and already I have the same feelings about Obama as I had for Bush...when can we get this dumb-ass motherfucker the fuck outta here?
13
Obama may have had good intentions during the election period, but then he got into office and found out just how much it costs to get shit done, so he keeps dropping stuff off that he had promised to do. And it's not just monetary costs, but whose back you have to scratch/ass you have to kiss to get what you want.
I think he may have naively thought people would just line up to help him implement all these changes because they were the "right" thing to do, but then he got in and realized everyone wants their pound of flesh.
I think he may have naively thought people would just line up to help him implement all these changes because they were the "right" thing to do, but then he got in and realized everyone wants their pound of flesh.
15
Loveschild, needle exchanges are proven to significantly reduce the spread of HIV and other diseases. The cost of needle exchange programs is significantly lower than the cost of dealing with the problems needle programs help prevent. That's why they're so widely used. Hope that clears up your confusion.
17
@15 "I was at my friend's house and they were shooting up Dilaudid, and they said snorting it and popping it would give you nothing like the feeling of shooting it, so I said, 'OK, let's try it,' " Gagnon says. "Once I did it, I fell in love."
"Gagnon is HIV positive."
"Gagnon is HIV positive."
19
If drug users get clean needles and less AIDS then homosexuals will climb from the current 59% of all new AIDS cases to somewhere around 75%.
20
That quote, which you quoted out of context and incompletely, comes from the following news story: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story…
The rest of the quote is:
"Gagnon is HIV positive. He goes to the Eastern Maine AIDS Network for support services and counseling, but he also goes to get clean needles."
The same article also says:
"There are eight federal reports that show that syringe exchange will decrease HIV and Hepatitis . . . It doesn't increase substance abuse."
The rest of the quote is:
"Gagnon is HIV positive. He goes to the Eastern Maine AIDS Network for support services and counseling, but he also goes to get clean needles."
The same article also says:
"There are eight federal reports that show that syringe exchange will decrease HIV and Hepatitis . . . It doesn't increase substance abuse."
22
WTF with the argument that syringe exchange encourages drug use? Really? "Hey you guys! They're opening up a syringe exchange program down the street! We've put off shooting dope long enough! Let's try it!"
23
The claim that needle exchanges encourage IV drug abuse is no different from the claim that condoms encourage sex: both claims are not only wrong from a common sense perspective, but have been utterly refuted by the research. The real problem is that some people don't like to believe the research when it disagrees with their own prejudices.
24
not one shout-out to Kerlikowske, who apparently everyone in Seattle is supposed to hate, yet has already reversed 35+ years of bad federal drug policy and continues to charge down that road.
Nice work, Gil. A few of us think you are awesome.
Nice work, Gil. A few of us think you are awesome.
25
@18: You understand needle exchange means less of "your tax dollars" are spent helping people you don't like, rather than spreading disease out of some sense of moral superiority.
Even if you don't care about the addicts, think about their spouses, families, and potential children!
Even if you don't care about the addicts, think about their spouses, families, and potential children!
26
You know, HIV and overdosing are the two biggest problems with heroin addiction. Not to mention, the price of heroin may cause a person's quality of life to plummet. To me, these problems seem to be caused by the drug's illegality, as opposed to the drug itself. Okay, it is the strongest pain killer in the world, and as such, it is extremely difficult for your body to reach equilibrium. Addicts usually try to get a bigger and bigger high each time they shoot up, so it's likely they will eventually overdose. Now to me, this sounds more like a lack of oversight and regulation of the drug. By letting the black market take over, we are letting people buy a lethal amount of heroin. We are also not educating addicts on how much is too much. Overdosing is caused by the illegality of the drug, not the drug itself.
Needle-sharing is also a result of pushing it underground, which can lead to HIV, as well as skin infections, diseases on the lining of the heart ... a whole list of diseases. The drug is also extremely expensive, due to it being highly illegal to sell. This causes a lot of addicts to live a very poor quality of life; spending most of what they earn on the drug. Again, all of this is caused by the drug's illegality. It is caused by a lack of oversight and regulation.
Two of the most common problems the actual drug will cause, for long-term addiction to the drug, is constipation and a lowered libido. It may also cause a woman to miss her period. That's it. Now, compare that with something like alcohol. If you remain an alcoholic, you can get cirrhosis of the liver, cancer of the liver, liver damage, heart disease, insomnia, infertility in men, problems with the stomach, lungs, kidneys, skin, muscle and bones ... alcoholism also suppresses the immune system. As for overdosing on alcohol ... you don't hear about it much, because people are educated, and most people know when to stop. We also have laws that prohibit alcohol poisoning, because you cannot serve a drunk person liquor. While it is easier to overdose on heroin, that only means we have more of a responsibility to regulate the drug. Anyway, I have always said it, we legalized the drugs that are killing us.
Needle-sharing programs are a step in the right direction. Heroin is a drug that needs to be heavily monitored. I think it is the one drug that needs to be legalized, or at least decriminalized, so we can better oversee what is happening with addicts. Don't think I am a complete nut, I think there are drugs out there that need to stay illegal (meth and crack, most predominantly), but with heroin, I think most of the damage is caused from the drug being illegal.
More...
Needle-sharing is also a result of pushing it underground, which can lead to HIV, as well as skin infections, diseases on the lining of the heart ... a whole list of diseases. The drug is also extremely expensive, due to it being highly illegal to sell. This causes a lot of addicts to live a very poor quality of life; spending most of what they earn on the drug. Again, all of this is caused by the drug's illegality. It is caused by a lack of oversight and regulation.
Two of the most common problems the actual drug will cause, for long-term addiction to the drug, is constipation and a lowered libido. It may also cause a woman to miss her period. That's it. Now, compare that with something like alcohol. If you remain an alcoholic, you can get cirrhosis of the liver, cancer of the liver, liver damage, heart disease, insomnia, infertility in men, problems with the stomach, lungs, kidneys, skin, muscle and bones ... alcoholism also suppresses the immune system. As for overdosing on alcohol ... you don't hear about it much, because people are educated, and most people know when to stop. We also have laws that prohibit alcohol poisoning, because you cannot serve a drunk person liquor. While it is easier to overdose on heroin, that only means we have more of a responsibility to regulate the drug. Anyway, I have always said it, we legalized the drugs that are killing us.
Needle-sharing programs are a step in the right direction. Heroin is a drug that needs to be heavily monitored. I think it is the one drug that needs to be legalized, or at least decriminalized, so we can better oversee what is happening with addicts. Don't think I am a complete nut, I think there are drugs out there that need to stay illegal (meth and crack, most predominantly), but with heroin, I think most of the damage is caused from the drug being illegal.
27
Besides all that, addicts often do crazy things for drugs, and if they end up doing sex work, I'd really rather they not spread more HIV into the general population through the johns they may infect.
HIV is bad for addicts and everyone else, too.
HIV is bad for addicts and everyone else, too.
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