Pubdate: Tue, 08 Apr 2008 Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN) Copyright: 2008 The StarPhoenix Contact: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/letters.html Website: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/400 Author: Wayne Eyre NEEDLE EXCHANGE PROGRAM ISN'T SAFEGUARDING PUBLIC Now that the snow has receded, everyone can once again participate in the fun activity of pincering discarded hypodermic needles into puncture-proof containers. Since Jan. 1, firefighters have recovered more than 5,250 of these possibly-lethal "sharps," as they call them. But with a little diligence, who knows how many more we might find in bushes, back alleys, or front lawns. In a time when we fret about second-hand smoke and the UV Index, should we not regard this surreal spring ritual as an outrageously dangerous health hazard? Were I a public health services official, I'd be mighty nervous about a liability lawsuit from anyone who contracts hepatitis or AIDS from stepping on, or being pricked by one of these needles. Isn't that eventuality merely a matter of time? Meanwhile, the media run their annual the-needles-are-back stories. We're told how to carefully dispose of the damn things. And on goes the "needle-exchange" program, as blithely as might a program to promote bicycle helmet use. (I put "needle exchange" in quotation marks, for if it were truly an exchange, there presumably would be no need for a springtime harvest of discarded needles.) I don't pretend to know how to best treat drug abusers and addicts. But what justification can there be in a needle-handout program that results in an incredibly dangerous scattering of needles that carry heaven knows what pathogens? I'm told that there are more than 800 registered needle recipients in Saskatoon. Surely a 24/7 safe house, where users could get injected, would be better than a hand-out program that results in thousands of needles being tossed on public property. Public safety has got to trump the practice of handing out needles to users. Wayne Eyre, Saskatoon - --- MAP posted-by: Derek