Harm Reduction Works Over War on Drugs!!!

Injection-related disease - One third of people with HIV in the United States were infected through injection drug use. Every year, another 8,000 people are newly infected with HIV through sharing contaminated syringes and another 15,000 are infected with Hepatitis C.
These infections are preventable. In communities where access to sterile syringes is supported, transmission of HIV & Hepatitis C in injecting drug users has declined as a proportion of all cases by mode of transmission. Decreases have also been documented among the sex partners and children of injection drug users.
Syringe Exchange programs are highly cost-effective. The lifetime cost of medical care for each new HIV infection is $385,200; the equivalent amount of money spent on syringe exchange programs would prevent at least 30 new HIV infections.
Syringe exchange programs increase access to drug treatment & medical care. In addition to the reduced risks for disease, sterile syringe access programs facilitate greater access to drug treatment. These programs also provide a crucial entry point into medical care, detox and rehabilitation, and mental health treatment.
Nearly 200 syringe exchange programs currently operate in 38 states, Puerto Rico, Washington DC, and Indian Lands. Most operate on a shoestring, surviving on dwindling private donations and severe restrictions of public funding.
The medical and scientific community support syringe exchange. Studies by the Centers for Disease Control and the National Academy of Sciences show that syringe exchange programs are effective. Programs have the support of the medical community, including the American Medical Association, the American Public Health Association and the American Nurses Association
Syringe exchanges get dirty needles off the streets. Research demonstrates that the presence of a syringe exchange program results in fewer used syringes improperly discarded. In Baltimore, after an SEP was implemented, the number of inappropriately discarded syringes decreased by almost 50%. In Portland, the number of discarded syringes decreased by almost two-thirds after the NEP opened. In 1992, Connecticut repealed a law forbidding the sale of syringes without a prescription. As a result, reports show a reduction in needle sharing by 50 percent and a decrease in HIV infections by over 30 percent. In addition, law enforcement officials experienced two-thirds fewer needle stick injuries.

So i urge all PHA's To START YOUR ATTACK ON HIV-AIDS BY BLOGS,VLOGS & VIDEO'S 2!!!