Pubdate: Mon, 3 Dec 2007
Source: Courier-Post (Cherry Hill, NJ)
Copyright: 2007 Courier-Post
Contact: http://www.courierpostonline.com/about/edletter.html
Website: http://www.courierpostonline.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/826
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?137 (Needle Exchange)

NEEDLE-EXCHANGE PROGRAMS ARE NEEDED TO COMBAT AIDS

We're glad Atlantic City has finally launched its long-needed 
clean-needle program.

Last week, Atlantic City became the first city in New Jersey to 
launch a needle-exchange program. The idea of the program is to stop 
the spread of AIDS, hepatitis and other deadly diseases that can be 
transmitted when illegal-drug users share needles.

We're glad this long-needed program is finally under way in Atlantic 
City, and will soon be under way in Camden, Newark and Paterson, 
where AIDS kills too many people. New Jersey, foolishly, was the last 
state in the nation to allow access to clean needles.

For years, data was accumulated in communities and states around the 
nation showing that needle-exchange programs lower the number of new 
AIDS cases and that the programs do not lead to more people using 
injection drugs such as heroin.

The cost of treating AIDS patients runs in the hundreds of thousands 
of dollars for each person. The cost of providing a few free needles 
to drug users is just a few thousand dollars altogether. For that 
reason alone, no New Jersey taxpayer should see this as a waste of 
money. It's a prime example of the old adage that an ounce of 
prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Beyond saving health-care dollars to treat destitute AIDS patients, 
it's critical that we do all we can to prevent the spread of AIDS and 
hepatitis. Needle-exchange programs absolutely accomplish that goal.

The government shouldn't promote illegal drug use. But it should do 
all it can to protect the public health and save taxpayer dollars. 
Needle-exchange programs make sense for communities where injection 
drug use is a real problem and the AIDS rate is spiking because of 
dirty needles.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake