Source: Orange County Register News Contact: 11797 Section: news, page 13 An overwhelming number of Americans support lifting a ban on federal government HIV prevention money being spent on needleexchange programs, a drug policy research institute said Thursday. It quoted a public opinion poll conducted last month. The Louis Harris Poll commissioned by the institute found that 71 percent of adults believe that cities and states and not the federal government should decide how to use the money allotted for HIV prevention. Current law prohibits the use of federal money to carry out needleexchange programs. Harris pollsters surveyed 1,003 adults by telephone Oct. 1519. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent. When told that organizations such as the American Medical Association approved of needle exchanges, 50 percent of respondents said they supported the programs, according to the poll.