Pubdate: Thu, 08 Sep 2011 Source: Fresno Bee, The (CA) Copyright: 2011 The Fresno Bee Contact: http://www.fresnobee.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/161 Note: Does not publish letters from outside their circulation area. Author: Bill McEwen LET'S GET PRACTICAL ABOUT NEEDLES Once again, a majority of Fresno County Supervisors knows better than the experts. With intravenous drug use and diseases from dirty needles ravaging thousands of residents and exposing nonusers to needless risk, Judy Case, Phil Larson and Debbie Poochigian voted down plans for a county- approved needle exchange program. "It's a philosophical question whether you give someone the tools to continue illegal behavior," Case, a registered nurse, told Bee reporter Kurtis Alexander. "I just think providing needles to addicts is enabling." Chalk up another political victory for the morality posse. Unfortunately, it goes down as another health defeat for a county that attracted negative attention in 2004 for having the highest per-capita use of injected drugs in our nation's metropolitan areas. The situation was so dire that Dr. Edward Moreno, the county's health officer, two years later declared a health crisis among intravenous drug users infected with hepatitis C and the AIDS virus. Case is wrong when she says that needle exchanges pose a philosophical question. What we have is a health question, and evidence shows that exchanges cut the spread of HIV and hepatitis C. In budget-conscious times, you'd think the board majority would want to reduce expensive treatments for these diseases. You'd also think that the county would want to be part of enhancing the good work of the Fresno Needle Exchange Program, a volunteer effort that has operated illegally since since the mid-1990s near Roeding Park, and free medical care provided by Dr. Marc Lasher. The board rejected a sound plan. Besides trading clean needles for dirty ones, the program would've exposed users to what they need: drug rehabilitation, mental-health treatment, temporary housing. Plus the proposal had the backing of WestCare California, a substance abuse treatment center with more than 1,000 clients in the Fresno area and a record of success. But the trio of supervisors didn't want to appear soft on drugs. No, sir. No, ma'am. All these supervisors know is that meth and heroin are illegal and drug users shouldn't have needles. The law is the law, after all. It's too bad that Case, Larson and Poochigian didn't recognize that the county is responsible for protecting the public at large. When dirty needle sharing is reduced, exposure to communicable diseases is cut, too. One thing all supervisors understand is that voters tend to like candidates who support law enforcement. Maybe the supervisors should consider that needle exchanges help first responders and other innocent victims who come in contact with dirty needles. I'm willing to provide cover for Case & Co. should they someday change their minds. They could chalk up the new stance to compassionate conservatism and protecting the public without condoning illegal drug use. It shouldn't be hard for them, actually. They're all supported by farmers who don't blink twice over hiring illegal immigrants to work the fields. Not that I'm criticizing farmers. They've got crops that need picking. In such situations, the overriding question is always practical not philosophical. - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart