Pubdate: Mon, 9 Sep 2002 Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer (WA) Copyright: 2002 Seattle Post-Intelligencer Contact: http://www.seattle-pi.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/408 Author: Kathy George Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?137 (Needle Exchange) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hr.htm (Harm Reduction) CLEAN SYRINGES STILL HARD TO FIND "I'm coming down from speed," says the homeless man matter-of-factly, the way other people talk about needing coffee. At age 23, Adam Van Allen still looks fresh-faced enough for a college track team, except that the only race he's running is against his own addiction. Right now he needs a fix. So he sits on the sidewalk on Broadway, around the corner from a park known for its drug trade, asking people for spare change. But even if he begs enough money to feed the heroin and crystal meth habits that he says have taken control of his life, he needs one more thing -- a clean needle. That's where a new state law is supposed to come in. King County is estimated to have 15,000 injection drug users who live throughout Seattle and its suburbs. Each of those users is believed to shoot up an average of three times a day. That means they need about 17 million syringes a year if they are to avoid sharing dirty, used ones, which can spread hepatitis, AIDS and other blood-borne diseases, said Michael Hanrahan of Public Health, Seattle & King County. But the health agency gives out only 2 million syringes annually through its needle-exchange program, which allows drug users to trade in dirty needles for clean ones at Capitol Hill, downtown, Rainier Valley, South Park, University District and White Center sites. Now, a growing number of pharmacies are starting to fill the gap. The state Legislature this year passed a law allowing private pharmacies to sell syringes to anyone 18 or older -- whether or not they need them for insulin or other legally allowed injections. Since the law took effect in July, county health officials have been recruiting pharmacies to sign "memorandums of agreement" promoting the law's goal of preventing disease. Pharmacies agree to sell clean needles and, at the same time, give the buyers information about drug treatment and safe needle disposal. And under the agreements, Public Health gives pharmacists and their staffs training on blood-borne disease transmission, said Hanrahan, the health agency's prevention coordinator for drugs and HIV/AIDS. So far, more than half the pharmacies approached by health officials have signed agreements, he said. But Hanrahan and others said it's still too early to measure the law's effectiveness. For example, Mike McMurray, spokesman for Bartell drug stores, said the regional chain has not tracked growth of its syringe sales since the law changed. Over the weekend, a Seattle Post-Intelligencer informal survey of pharmacists on Broadway and in downtown Seattle found that some don't realize the law has changed. And several pharmacies, including two of the biggest ones on Capitol Hill's main drag, still do not sell syringes without prescriptions. That hasn't become a problem yet for Van Allen. He said he gets all of his needles from the exchange program in Capitol Hill. "When you bring a dirty needle in," he says, you get a clean one free. But the exchange goes on for only a couple of hours each day, he adds. Last night's 10th Avenue exchange went from 6 to 8:30 p.m., attracting a steady trickle of users. Although Van Allen worries about getting a disease, he does sometimes share dirty needles. "I trust my friends enough to tell me if they have AIDS or something," he says. Van Allen has averted the grip of illness so far. "Last time I went to jail, they gave me an AIDS test and it came up negative," he says. But he has had friends with Hepatitis C. "That's the worst," he says. "Some of them disappear. I don't know if they're alive or dead." That's why Van Allen, other drug injectors and many health officials, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, support the new law. They want to stop people from dying. "I got turned onto dope when I was 14 years old. I've been struggling with it ever since," said Rex, 23, as he exchanged a plastic box of needles last night. He said he has friends who share dirty needles, jeopardizing their health, because they still think it's illegal to buy them in stores and don't want to risk arrest. "People are still going to do it (shoot drugs.) They'll just use somebody else's" needle, he said. Not everyone agrees with the law. Sixteen state senators and 31 House members voted against the measure, sponsored by Rep. Jeannie Darnielle, when it passed in March. One downtown pharmacist, who was not authorized to speak for her company and therefore declined to be named, said she is not sure the law is a good thing. She said she offers the health department's prevention information to people who buy the $3 needles. But often, they won't take it. They pretend they use the needles for insulin. "It's because it's an uncomfortable subject," she said. "They confuse counseling with preaching." The pharmacist said she personally will not sell needles to people who are only 18 or 19 years old, when it's apparent "they've just joined the club." "I don't want to be the one who plays a role in pushing their lives down the drain," she added. She said another pharmacist nearby won't sell needles because he doesn't want to draw drug users to his business. Even some of the street people interviewed over the weekend had mixed feelings about the new law. "People can do more damage to themselves with a needle," said John, a man in the Capitol Hill park who declined to give his last name. And a young woman sitting nearby echoed the concern that selling syringes to junkies promotes their drug dependence. But they also said it's better to make clean needles available for the sake of public health. In the past, needle exchange programs have stirred controversy among neighbors who don't want drug users congregating around them. But a single pharmacy is unlikely to attract as many users as free needle exchanges. The 10th Avenue needle exchange, for example, draws 45 to 50 people a night. Pharmacies agreeing to sell needles are sprinkled throughout the county, including some in Burien, the Eastside, Renton Highlands, Greenwood and West Seattle. And most pharmacists interviewed over the weekend said they have seen little demand for the syringes since the private sales were legalized. As of 2:30 p.m. yesterday, only three drug users had bought needles at a downtown pharmacy located just blocks from the corner of Second Avenue and Pike Street. In recent years, surveys by the state Health Department have found that two-thirds of Washington residents support needle exchanges as a way to reduce the spread of disease -- and to limit the costs to taxpayers and health consumers of treating indigent users, Hanrahan said. Statewide, there are about 41,000 injection drug users. They account for about 21 percent of the state's AIDS cases, according to a House report on the new law. "What the pharmacy syringe campaign does is further broaden the access," said the health agency's Hanrahan. "It is yet another avenue for the people who use drugs by injection to do so safely." - --- MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk