Pubdate: Sun, 12 Jul 2015 Source: Columbus Dispatch (OH) Copyright: 2015 The Columbus Dispatch Contact: http://www.dispatch.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/93 NEEDLE EXCHANGE CURBS DISEASE Heroin is a damaging, addictive drug that often brings with it another health threat: potentially deadly infections spread by needle-sharing. In light of a spike in heroin use and Hepatitis C infections in Franklin County and across Ohio, health officials in Columbus are considering launching a needle-exchange program to provide drug users with clean needles - and at the same time put them in contact with people who might help them kick the habit. Columbus Health Commissioner Dr. Teresa Long told The Dispatch that the city is in the early stages of discussing a comprehensive program that could include a needle exchange along with giving users access to treatment, a model that has found success elsewhere. She also would like to see increased distribution of naloxone, a drug (sold under the name Narcan) that can save opioid users from a fatal overdose. It's a grim fact that there is a greater need today than in previous years for such a program. Dayton launched one in April, operated by the city and county health departments, after overdose-death numbers more than doubled from 2010 to 2014. Cleveland, Cincinnati and Portsmouth also have needle-exchange programs. Diagnosed cases of Hepatitis C in Franklin County have nearly doubled in the past five years, reaching 1,369 cases in 2014. More people are being tested, which could account for some of the increase, but public-health leaders also point to needle-sharing as a cause. Though treatable, Hepatitis C, which attacks the liver, is serious and sometimes fatal if left untreated. Even more alarming is a rise in HIV infections tied to drug use in neighboring states. Indiana has recently seen the largest outbreak of HIV in the state's history, putting doctors across the country on alert. For this reason, AIDS Resource Center Ohio backs needle-exchange efforts around the state. Setting up such an exchange under current Ohio law requires a community to declare an emergency. A bill that would have made it easier for local authorities to set up needle-exchange programs passed the House with strong bipartisan support in late 2013, but never made it through the Senate. Federal policy has gone back and forth in recent years, with a decade-long ban on federal funding for needle exchanges rescinded in 2009 but reinstated in 2011. Providing needles to addicts can be controversial and politically risky, since some see it as facilitating the use of illegal drugs. But there is a strong argument for acknowledging an unpleasant reality in the interest of public safety. Drug abusers are going to use drugs; keeping the problem underground only means more people likely will be exposed to diseases on top of the danger of the drugs themselves. Studies have shown that such programs don't increase illegal drug use, while helping prevent the spread of infections. Setting up a comprehensive program in Columbus to combat infection while encouraging treatment for addiction is a worthwhile idea. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom