One of the major problems of our society nowadays is the rapid growth of drug addicts. This is because people misused and abused drugs, which can lead to addiction and dependent on drugs. In addition, the most abused drugs are psychotropic drugs such as cocaine and heroin, which can change the way people thinks, acts and feels. Today, there are many programs that are established to help drug users and prevent the spread of diseases. Needle exchange program (NEPs) is one of the programs, which has goal to reduce harm to drug users and innocent people. Moreover, implementing of needle exchange programs has become an argument because it cannot help drug users but instead it encourages them to use more drugs. In fact, needle exchange programs are ineffective at reducing the spread of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other infectious diseases; therefore, needle exchange programs should be abolished.
Needle exchange programs are defined as a program, which intended to slow the spread of AIDS among IV drug users. It provides factual information and education for drug users and community so that the use of drugs has a minimal negative impact. (Watson 1991: 14) The first needle exchange programs began to emerge across Europe in the mid- 1980’s and have become famous health strategy around the world. In Canada, NEPs was officially opened in Ontario in 1987 and Vancouver in 1989, and a total of 28 NEPs were operational by February 1993. Today, there are more than 100 NEPs functioning around Canada, most of which earn federal and provincial funding. Needle exchange programs aim to provide injection and encourage the utilization of sterile needle syringes and other paraphernalia among injecting drug u...
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...of Aug. 6 in Norris Crescent Parkette. (Ellison)
To conclude, although the main goal of the Needle exchange programs is to reduce the transmissions of HIV and other diseases, they still fail to help the drug addicts they intended to serve and prevent any injuries in community. In fact, they encourage them to use more drugs, which could lead to overdose and death. Therefore, Needle exchange programs should be abolished.
Works Cited
Watson, M. (1991). Harm Reduction- Why Do it? International Journal or Drug policy, vol. 2, no. 5 pp 13- 15
Osborn, Bud., et al. Raise Shit. First Edition. Fernwood Publishing Co.,Ltd.; April 1, 2010
Ellison, Marc. “Toronto date reveals hundreds of discarded syringes” 15 Aug 2013. Web
Needle Exchange Programs. Sept 2003 Web
Franciscus, Alan. “Needle Exchange – A Matter of Public Health” HCV Advocate. April 2003
Bruce K. Alexander’s essay “Reframing Canada’s ‘Drug Problem’” is about shifting the focus from intervention to prevention. Alexander explains that in Canada there have been three major waves of drug intervention: “Criminal prosecution and intensive anti-drug” (225), “medicinal and psychological treatment” (225), and the ‘“harm reduction’ techniques” (225) being the most resent. The “’harm reduction’” (225) consisted of: clean injectable heroin, clean needles, methadone, and housing for addicts. Although each of the methods is devoted and knowledgeable, they have done little to decrease the deaths or suppress the unhappiness. While clean heroin did work well few addicts quit using and many found
It has been said that addiction is the plague of the 21st century. In an age of unprecedented life expectancy and medical breakthroughs, people are dying from both disease and overdose that are self inflicted and the cure is currently out of reach. Implementing progressive ideas such as safe injection sites have been a battle, both for caring social workers and front line emergency workers looking to minimize the health risks associated with risk taking behaviors that inevitably occur with intravenous drug use. While the addicted population currently uses considerable government funding by way of shelter services as well as prison and jail time, safe injection sites are a necessary step in the battle against drug abuse as is a major prevention
By providing clean needles to drug addicts, are we causing another issue such as increased drug
Perhaps one of the most pressing concerns is health and the assumption that to a certain degree criminalization is justified by preserving health. Illicit drugs are, in reality, not as hazardous to public health as accustomed views present- particularly in relation to certain recreational activities that are legal. Of the 25,000 illegal drug use-induced fatalities the National Institute on Drug Abuse has brought to light, the majority is more correctly due to drug prohibition than consumption. Also, some 14,300 of the casualties are a result of diseases like AIDS, transferred (generally) because of contaminated drug injection needles. Needle exchange programs for sterile needles are encouraged by the World Health Organization, amongst many other international organizations, as it is considered as possibly the greatest innovation for the health improvement of users. However, the federal government disallows the appropriation of its funds to these programs because the possession and sale of syringes still remain largely illegal. Furthermore, - as I explain later on- between the sellers and producers, there is no real confidence in the contents and hence, dangerousness of a given street drug. Considering the already growing level of consumption, imagine the gains of, for example, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) supervising illicit drugs, parallel to their work on food and
The main purpose of needle exchange programs are based on that idea that access to sterile needles will significantly reduce needle sharing and will in turn reduce HIV transmission. It is also believed that implementing needle exchange programs will allow more opportunities for other forms of HIV prevention education to come about and increase people’s access to HIV treatment services. These exchange programs have opened up plenty of things that work to help reduce the spreading HIV such as the use of condoms, bleach kits, and giving people referrals. These programs came about because there is the growing knowledge that people who are not ready for drug treatment and who use many different types of drugs through the use of needles, is causing more and more people to get infected with HIV and is not helping the programs that are used to reduce the spread of HIV. Needle Exchange programs offer free new sterile needles in exchange for old used ones that are collected from injection drug users (Health News).
The purpose of this essay is to indicate how the needle and syringe program in prisons will benefit the Australian government as well as the wider Australian community. As well as the maintenance of NSPs can be maintained while acknowledging concerns of those against it. Needle and syringe programs (NSP) are aimed at intravenous drug users, so as to prevent and limit blood borne diseases like HIV/AIDS and hepatitis. These NSP programs help drug addicts by supplying needles and also through referrals and provide education among other services. All these efforts are made to control the spread of blood borne diseases like Hepatitis and AIDS in Australian population with 872 Blood Borne viruses reported 4th quarter 2013(Quarterly Surveillance Report Notifiable Sexually Transmissible Infections and Blood-borne Viruses in Western Australia, Government of Western Australia, Department of health period ending Volume11(1) 31st of December 2013). Blood borne diseases being a major concern all around the globe and prisons being a hub for these diseases its best that NSPs are introduced in prisons.
Although needle exchange programs have been successful, they have had some criticism. One of the main goals in the needle exchange program is to prevent or to reduce the rate of transmission of any infectious diseases, such as the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or hepatitis C by distributing sterile syringes. The intended group that this program is trying to focus on is injecting drug users, since they have a high rate of either repeatedly using a contaminated syringe or sharing the same syringe with others. These programs do not only focus on distributing syringes to those who choose to accept them, some of the programs provide different services such as, counseling groups, education classes about the risk of using contaminated syringes, free medical visits, and HIV testing. On the other hand, some people may be against these types of programs because they are allowing injection drug users to continue to use drugs. Another reason why people may not be as accepting of the needle exchange programs is due to the fact that these programs are government funded.
One specific policy that adheres and follows the harm reduction approach is the Drug Policy Alliance. Their policy is considered to be a harm reduction approach because they acknowledge the fact that “A basic tenet of harm reduction is that there has never been, and will never be, a drug-free society” (Drug Policy Alliance) and have the same aims and objectives as the approach of harm reduction. This policy is more of an intervention than just a basic rehab that only focuses on the use of drug but not the bigger picture – the reason people use the drugs.
Pauly, B. (2008). Harm reduction through a social justice lens. International Journal of Drug Policy, 19(1), 4-10. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2007.11.005
The Government needs to draw the line somewhere. In Sweden the Government was giving out free heroin, in order to keep the drugs free from being impure. However, Margaret McKay (2001) declares that if we follow in same steps, soon we will be giving out not only free heroin, but also other illegal substances as well. It will then lead to problems with other drugs as well.
With such statistical information it is unsurprising that governments have not fully embraced the harm reduction concept, with some countries reverting back to older methods. For instance, Canada is on the verge of closing the dangerous In-site injection facility in Vancouver and reallocating funds to traditional inpatient treatment--real treatment that promotes eventual abstinence. One can conclude that the effectiveness of harm reduction is a very questionable topic as not only does it aid in offender substance abuse, but at what cost. The topic of harm reduction provokes a deeper thought, what happened to prevention methods and what about them is not working?
Many people believe that the only way to receive HIV and AIDS is through sexual intercourse. Although it can be spread through sexual intercourse without proper protection, there is a bigger issue at hand. Not only can HIV and AIDS be transferred through sex, it can be transferred through the sharing of needles. A large number of people forget that drugs are becoming a popular trend in today’s society. The spread of HIV and AIDS has increased because of the sharing of needles between drug users.Not only is it an STD (Sexually Transmitted Disease) it is a bloodborne pathogen. This is why needle exchange programs are a must have in communities like Licking County, today. Needle exchange programs are extremely helpful because it decreases the spread of HIV and AIDS.
Alexander explains that in Canada there has been three major waves of drug intervention, the ‘“harm reduction’ techniques” (225) being the most resent consisted of: clean injectable heroin, clean needles, methadone, and housing. Although, each of the methods are devoted and knowledgeable they have done little to decreased the deaths or supress the unhappiness. While clean heroin did work well few addicts quit using and many found the conditions of reserving the drugs to be repulsive. Yet another method is legalization which is nothing new and will do little to help.
Addiction has been going around for a very long time but today drug use has become more popular than ever. According to Aaron Cooper’s CNN article Study: 22 Million Americans use illegal drugs, “More than 22 million Americans age 12 and older - nearly 9% of the U.S. population - use illegal drugs, according to the government’s 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.” Once you become addicted it becomes very hard to stop, and others do not want to stop or feel they cannot. Many people believe that providing drug users with free disposable needles could help prevent the spread of AIDS and ultimately prevent countless drug related deaths. Although this is an extremely controversial idea it is still something that should be explored more in depth. In Pro & Con: Free Needles for Addicts, to Help Curb AIDS? Bruce Lambert discusses the debate on giving drug addicts free needles. Lambert goes on to say, “AIDS has spread more rapidly among intravenous drug users than any other group. Sample tests show that more than half the city's estimated 200,000 addicts are infected with the vir...
Drug abuse has been a hot topic for our society due to how stimulants interfere with health, prosperity, and the lives of others in all nations. All drugs have the potential to be misapplied, whether obtained by prescription, over the counter, or illegally. Drug abuse is a despicable disease that affects many helpless people. Majority of those who are beset with this disease go untreated due to health insurance companies who neglect and discriminate this issue. As an outcome of missed opportunities of treatments, abusers become homeless, very ill, or even worst, death.