From THE ATLANTIC:
…Syringe exchanges, are internationally credited with dramatically reducing HIV and hepatitis infections among injection drug users. They’ve also been proven to link addicted people to care (PDF), save taxpayers millions of dollars in health care costs, and help keep syringes off the streets, protecting both cops and kids.
But amid the ruckus of the most recent culture-war battles — over Planned Parenthood dollars and contraception coverage — Congress quietly passed an amendment that prohibits the use of federal money for syringe exchanges. For 21 years, the United States had banned the use of federal funds for these programs. AIDS activists spent two decades fighting that ban, and in 2009, President Obama overturned it. Yet in a matter of months a few social conservatives managed to reinstate it. How did this happen? …
…Many advocates for syringe exchanges say that in allowing an outdated moral agenda to trump science, politicians like Rogers are launching a misguided attack on both drug users and taxpayers in general. Eight federally-funded research reports have concluded that these programs reduce HIV transmission without increasing the use of illicit drugs. In New York City, the rate of new HIV infections among drug users fell 80 percent after the city implemented syringe exchanges. And the cost savings from such programs have been enormous: A clean syringe costs about $0.97 (PDF), according to Human Rights Watch. The average lifetime cost for treating HIV, in contrast, is around $300,000…
Click here to read the full article.
EDITOR: Actually a clean syringe only costs an exchange about nine cents. Even assuming a state-of-the art facility for Lancaster might cost as much as $150,000 a year, it would be a bargain in reducing the spread of HIV / AIDS, other social diseases, obtaining treatment for addicts as soon as they were receptive, and bringing families together.
The obstacle? Lancaster General Health, a 501(c)3 ‘Public Charity’ which, despite its vast profits and ‘mission statement’, has refused to provide any support for the syringe exchanged proposed by the Urban League.
