In the month of April, [our city's] nationally known harm-reduction program - the Needle Exchange Program of Asheville (NEPA) - will be represented at the Tenth Annual North American Syringe Exchange Convention in Portland, Ore. [visit http://www.nasen.org on the Web]. At this gathering, delegates from more than 120 national needle-exchange and harm-reduction programs, the scientific community, plus [organizations of] international origins, will impart and report the latest information related to the impact of needle exchange on localities. The health-care industry, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, and alcohol/substance-use-and-abuse arenas are only some of the foci. Beneficial aspects [of such programs], such as linking people to services and more positive treatment options, are others. [continues 133 words]