rb the spread of AIDS among intravenous drug users.
There have been numerous studies over the past decade that support the notion that needle exchange programs help combat the spread of HIV and do not encourage drug use. One such study was sponsored by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The researchers in this study concluded that needle exchange programs ôcut down on unsafe IV drug use practices that can lead to HIV infection and donÆt encourage drug useö (Support, 1993, p. 12). Despite such studies, government policy continues to ban federal funding to state and local governments for needle exchange programs.
Needle exchange programs remain controversial since they were first introduced early in the HIV/AIDS epidemic. It has always been clear that drug users who share needles were at a high risk of contracting HIV. Users then spread the disease to their sex partners and/or family members and children. Critics of needle exchange programs maintain that these kinds of programs only condone intravenous drug use and aggravate a drug problem in a population already at risk. However, in light of numerous studies and pilot programs in the 1990s, former Secretary of Health and Human Services, Donna Shalala, argued that needle exchange programs provide benefits in addition to lowering the risk for spreading HIV, ôOverall these studies indicate that needle exchange programs can have an impact on bringing difficult-to-reach populations into system of care that offer drug dependency services, mental health, medical and support servicesö (Kenen, 1997, p. 1).
While it may seem obvious that needle exchange programs are a key strategy in fighting the spread of HIV, implementation of such programs has been sporadic and limited. This is largely because critics maintain such programs are ineffective. Because of this belief and the subsequent lack of federal funding, the HIV epidemic among intravenous drug users...