Pubdate: Tue, 26 Dec 2000
Source: San Diego Union Tribune (CA)
Copyright: 2000 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
Contact:  PO Box 120191, San Diego, CA, 92112-0191
Fax: (619) 293-1440
Website: http://www.uniontrib.com/
Forum: http://www.uniontrib.com/cgi-bin/WebX
Author: Tom Saladino
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1888/a05.html

CLEAN NEEDLE EXCHANGES DO NOT FACILITATE ADDICTION

Re: "Premature act" (Editorial, Dec. 17):

Your attitude on distributing clean needles to drug addicts seems to be: 
Since being an addict is harmful to one's health, we might as well make it 
worse by denying access to clean needles.

You state, "Exchanges promote the even larger dangers that drug abuse 
inflicts on addicts, such as fatal overdoses and suicides." Can you really 
believe that providing clean needles promotes drug addiction? That people 
decide whether or not to become addicts based on the availability of clean 
needles? Are you seriously suggesting that addicts would say, "Gee, since I 
can't get a clean needle, I'll just stop being an addict, and therefore 
eliminate the risk of a fatal overdose?"

You imply that a policy of disallowing a needle exchange program is 
humanitarian, and even helpful to drug addicts, when in reality it is 
merely punitive and mean-spirited.

Tom Saladino, San Diego
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jo-D