6:00pm: Sportsline with Tony Caridi

Time to give needle exchange programs a try

A report by the Associated Press last week documented a dramatic increase in the number of acute hepatitis C cases associated with intravenous drug use. The AP cited a study last month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that “found hepatitis C cases across four Appalachian states—Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia and Virginia—more than tripled between 2006 and 2012.”

Kentucky leads the nation with a rate of 4.1 cases for every 100,000 residents. That’s six times the national average. The CDC figures show West Virginia’s hepatitis C rate is 3 cases for every 100,000 residents, the second highest in the country in 2012.

Hepatitis and HIV viruses can survive in the blood on used needles, so drug users who share needles risk infection. One way states, communities and health officials are responding to the crisis is with needle exchange programs, where addicts turn in used needles for clean ones.

Last March, Kentucky lawmakers passed legislation giving municipalities the authority to establish needle exchanges. Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, a conservative Republican, issued an order creating a clean-needle program in Scott County earlier this year after a dramatic increase in HIV cases. The Indiana Legislature followed up the following month approving a needle distribution program.

Huntington announced last March that one of its approaches to a worsening drug problem will be a needle exchange program. Jim Johnson, the head of Huntington’s Office of Drug Control Policy and a long-time police officer, says he’s become convinced an exchange program is worth a try.

In Charleston, Lt. Chad Napier, the head of Kanawha Valley Metro Drug Unit, told me on Metronews “Talkline” last week he believes the capital city is behind the curve on a clean needle program. “We should have probably had this last year to be honest with you. That may sound funny coming from law enforcement, but we’re in the middle of an epidemic.”

Yes, giving needles to drug addicts does sound counterintuitive, but addicts are going to use until they get help or die. Providing clean needles has several benefits.

Portsmouth, Ohio started syringe exchanges in 2012 after the community declared a public health emergency the previous year.

As the Louisville Courier-Journal reported last March, “Funded by donations, the Portsmouth exchange hands out an average of 5,000 clean needles every month. And while it’s not popular with everyone—some believe it encourages use—public health officials say the ‘Prevention not Permission’ program has helped reduce hepatitis C, gotten needles out of parks and streets and, most importantly, linked addicts to treatment, testing and counseling they might not otherwise seek.”

Needle exchange programs are not about being soft on drugs, but rather a practical approach to a worsening public health issue.





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