Pubdate: Tue, 22 Feb 2011
Source: Washington Examiner (DC)
Copyright: 2011 Washington Examiner
Contact:  http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3788
Author: Scott McCabe
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?137 (Needle Exchange)

WHITE HOUSE MOVES TO FUND NEEDLE EXCHANGES AS DRUG TREATMENT

The Obama administration has designated intravenous needle exchanges 
as a drug treatment program, allowing federal money set aside to 
treat addictions to be used to distribute syringes to narcotics users.

The change marks a dramatic shift in the argument over needle 
exchange programs. Two years ago President Obama lifted the 21-year 
ban on federally funded needle exchange programs as a necessary evil 
to reduce the spread of HIV among illicit drug users. The new 
position, determined by the surgeon general, is that the states can 
receive federal funding for programs that hand out the syringes as a treatment.

"It doesn't pass any serious test of rationality," said John P. 
Walters, the former drug czar under President George W. Bush. "It's 
like the surgeon general deciding that handing out lighters is a good 
way to help people to stop smoking. It's at least that absurd, and 
the consequences are even greater given the risks involved in IV drug use."

The notice was posted late Friday before the three-day Presidents Day weekend.

U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Regina M. Benjamin told The Washington 
Examiner that needle exchange programs can serve as a gateway to 
treatment for drug addiction, HIV and other diseases.

"This determination, based on years of scientific research, will 
permit states and territories to use Substance Abuse Prevention and 
Treatment Block Grant funds for what had formerly been termed 'needle 
exchange,' " Benjamin said.

The notice cited a 11-year-old study in the Journal of Substance 
Abuse Treatment that found that addicts who participated in needle 
exchanges were five times more likely to enter drug treatment.

Dr. Lisa Merlo, an University of Florida assistant professor of 
psychiatry and director of the Addiction Medicine Public Health 
Research Group, said individuals who attend needle exchange programs 
have significantly higher rates of participation in drug abuse 
treatment programs. Needle exchange programs refer many individuals 
to drug treatment programs who otherwise might not access those 
services, she said.

But Dr. Scott Teitelbaum, director of the University of Florida-run 
Florida Recovery Center, said, "Putting a needle in your arm is not 
recovery." Teitelbaum said he opposed taking money from legitimate 
treatment programs to pay for needle exchange.

Dr. Robert L. DuPont, president of the Institute for Behavior and 
Health in Rockville, said it's possible that addicts will seek 
treatment after getting clean syringes, but there are more 
cost-effective ways of getting drug users to seek treatment.

"If someone proposed giving free drinks to treat alcoholism, they'd 
be laughed out of the building," DuPont said. "But in the drug world, 
that's considered good science."

A more effective way is to spend the money to go into the shelters 
and communities hit hard by addictions and bring the addicts into 
treatment, said DuPont and other drug treatment experts.

Critics say the new policy is a step toward European-style treatment 
where the government provides the drugs and a clean room to inject them.  
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake