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.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom