Injection Drug Users Lower Risk Of Transmitting Infectious Diseases When There Is A Needle Exchange Program

Although these clients will still be abusing illegal substances, Sheon (2004) indicated that any reduction of harm is a step in the right direction, and the amount of success is measured by the client’s quality of life and well-being (as cited in Brown et al., 2005). “Harm reduction is about being respectful in somebody else’s world” (Georgina Perry, Service manager and co-author, England as cited in Cusick et al., 2010). By not respecting somebody else’s choices, the clients feel they must lie about their unhealthy lifestyles, which prevents the clients from getting assistance because they were trying to protect themselves from the real situation (Georgina Perry, Service manager and co-author, England as cited in Cusick et al., 2010). A way to reduce the harm from illegal substance abuse is clean needle exchange, and teaching clients how to properly inject themselves (Brown et al., 2005). The needle exchange is a program where clients exchange their used needles for clean ones, which helps reduce the spread of diseases such as HIV/AIDS (Brown et al., 2005). With continuation of these programs the harm from abusing illegal substances is reduced and the spread of life threatening diseases, such as HIV,

Vancouver Injection Drug User Study (VIDUS) is a project that gives a prospective study and has over 1500 IDU 's enlisted to assist since 1996 and gathers data on drug use, health, sexual activity, etc. Some of the topics discussed included: prison culture, availability and price of drugs and equipment, drug use, VIDUS shows that the risk of HIV infection indicated that incarcerated injection drug users were associated with a greater risk of 2.7 times (Small, Kain, Laliberte, Schechter, O 'Shaughnessy & Spittal, 2005).

A safe injection site (SIS) has been placed in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside where drug use is a challenging problem. The program is a vital piece of the cities known harm reduction approach to its serious problems with homelessness, drugs, crime and AIDS. Canada has drastically shifted its method. Going from punishing drug users to establishing the plan of harm reduction. Since 2003 when the supervised SIS opened, it has presented a safe health-focused center where drug users have access to inject illegal drugs using sterile equipment in a clean environment under the supervision of medically trained professionals. Although there are some serious concerns about the

Imagine that you are the pilot of a plane traveling to a new and exciting destination. Early in the journey the plane takes off and soars high into the sky where you feel like you are on top of the world, looking down from above at all of the beauty underneath you. On the way to your destination you are anxious and full of excitement in anticipation of the new journey that you are about to experience when all of the sudden your plane starts to shake and you find yourself losing control. At this point you have two options: You can try to change course to regain control and make it through the turbulence or you can continue with what you are doing and let the plane spiral to the ground in a firey crash. This scenario is similar to the life

Harm reduction can be defined as an approach that aims to reduce the consequences of high risk behaviours such as injection drug use on the individual and on society as a whole. Harm reduction programs provide injection drug users with access to a clean injection environment, sterile injections, drug-preparation equipment and safe disposal of contaminated material at the time of injection. Staff members in harm reduction facilities provide health teaching, anonymous HIV testing, information on addiction treatment, condoms and assist in connecting clients to social and health services (Semaan et al., 2011; Ball, 2007). Although, the benefits of harm reduction are evident through reduction of accidental drug overdose and prevention of

An increase in drug use, specifically opiates, has overwhelmed the United States. This behavior has led to a rise in the transmission of HIV/Hepatitis C which would be otherwise preventable. The needle exchange programs in Moorhead, Milwaukee, and Scott County are working to lower the transmission rate and increase participation in treatment programs.

Imagine living in a world where the government supplied drug addicts with free drugs. This is what is happening with the needle exchange. Needle Exchange Programs allow injecting drug users to trade in dirty needles for clean needles at little to no cost. Using dirty needles, or needles that have already been used, is one of the main causes of HIV and other blood borne illnesses. There have been many studies that show this correlation. There are many problems that make Needle Exchange programs ineffective.

Those individuals that contradicted the Needle Exchange program can refer to that this program can prompt the advancement of medications by giving needles to them. Some rules ought not to be yielded only to have this arrangement. The individual decision to go on the wrong way by taking medications in the public eye should realize that it is unlawful. That person that picks this way all separate way to make drugs ought to endure the results individually, without being loads on alternate citizens. This sorts of standards are improper. For example, Atlantic City judges managed in 2005 against Needle Exchanges on the premise that: "Atlantic City and its representatives are not absolved from the (criminal) code arrangements precluding the ownership, utilize, and circulation of medications and medication gear basically on the grounds that they received a needle-trade program for advantageous reasons." (Forum). As should be apparent, there are many levels headed discussion spinning the benefits of introducing Needle Exchange Program. Advantages incorporate the previously mentioned explanations behind diminishing HIV and making nature more secure. Be that as it may, the NEP can send a wrong message advising individuals to utilize needles drugs. These considerations show up at a youthful age. This is because of an absence of information about society. The needle trade projects can send a zero-resilience message to the adolescents and organization. In any case, this could be uncommon. A portion of the issues is not tended to in this program. For instance, sharing the blend of water for heroin. This little issues can have a massive effect on the general public. At last, the needle trade program lessens the quantity of impact from HIV/AIDs display. In my viewpoint, needle trade programs are to a high degree profitable to the overall population. Each application isn't flawless; however, its principal objective is to enable the

The group as a whole believes that harm reduction policy promotes public health. Those who are contrary to the police believe programs like the needle exchange program and methadone clinics promote the abuse of drugs. The harm reduction approach intends to treat and educate addicts in hopes they will stop the abuse and decrease the rate of disease. Not all drug addicts are criminals, and those who are not criminals may actually have a “true” addiction or illness. Instead of criminally charging those individuals, the policy is trying to connect with them to get the actual help they need. For years now, the United States has attempted to ban such drug use with no success. The government should be aware that it would cost them less to promote programs, such as the needle exchange program, verses paying to treat addicts who have contracted HIV from drug use. As long as drugs are being distributed on the streets, there will always be individuals who will abuse them.

On the other hand, people who are against of needle exchange programs claim that the needle exchange programs don’t save lives but instead it can cause drug-related deaths. Even though NEPs help reduce the transmission of HIV and other diseases, they still encourage people to use more drugs, which could lead to death. Addicts are prone to death, perhaps not from HIV, but from overdosed, collapsed veins, poisoned dope, or the violence and criminality that go along with the illicit drug trade. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), there are more than 33,000 people who died from drug overdose in 2005. As a result, drug overdose become the second

When the government adopts needle exchange programs, People including drug users and non-drug users would have to start paying taxes for this program, this will then cause the price of needles to increase which would then cause heroin itself to increase. Many people might believe that adopting needle exchange programs would lead to a larger population of heroin users which is in fact false. In San Francisco a needle exchange program was adopted in December 1986 through June 1992 the injection frequency among injecting drug users (IDUs) decreased from 1.9 injections per day to .7 and the “percent of new initiates into injection drug use decreased from 3% to 1%” (National Research Council. Paragraph 14). “In the United States, an estimated 929,646 people are living with HIV/AIDS” and 11% of those cases are caused by injecting drug

There are many ways in which people who are addicted to intravenous drugs are perceived by our society. People sometimes believe the addicted person is to blame for their circumstance and substance dependence and some feel serious drug addicts are a “lost cause” due to a lack of values or flawed character. “Persons who struggle with addictions often are depicted as criminals or prostitutes, weak, lazy and morally corrupt” (Bartlett, R., Brown, L., Shattell, M., Wright, T., Lewallen, L. (2013). These stereotypes paint people with addiction negatively; a percentage of people who live with serious addiction are capable of recovery with the right attitude, support and healthcare. Street level healthcare services such as; safe injection sites, provide accessable resources at street level for people to make the choice to live healthier lifestyles. Govement funding and support is needed to make these projects possible to improve the health of Canadians. Safe injection sites are proven to be positive contributions to communities, save lives, reduce harm and open doors towards recovery for people from the grip of addiction.

Even though there are already harsh penalties toward those who contain and use illicit drugs, it would not be possible to give them these sentences without their presence. Many legal drugs such as alcohol and tobacco have relatively dangerous affects that could lead to death in the same ways illegal substances can, which brings upon the question of why an individual’s well-being would ever be put before the law. INSITE has proven to the world that providing a secure and reliable facility for addicts to inject drugs will not only prevent them from harm and provide safety for the public, but it will also encourage users to seek recovery. Research shows that associations with the safe-injection site has caused a 30 percent increase in rehabilitation programs, and an estimate of $14 million in savings and 1000 HIV preventions through the course of 10 years (Mosher, 2011: 377). With the significant amount of evidence that INSITE has positively impacted toward society and its members, there is no reason not to launch additional safe-injection sites in areas where they are

Opana is utilized to combat long-term chronic pain over a twenty-four hour period, and its magnitude is extremely powerful, yet addictive. Individuals that have become addicted to Opana were shooting up as often as twenty times per day, often sharing needles with one another. Opana is so addictive that the CDC was able to have the experience of speaking with a family that shared one syringe among three generations. Having knowledge about these stories prompted Governor Mike Pence to adjust his beliefs surrounding needle exchange programs. Governor Pence reversed his view in regards to needle exchange programs after realizing the serious magnitude

The townspeople or community might be hesitant to provide assistance for injection drug users. Stigma exists around substance use and abuse especially when it comes to needle-exchange programs. The belief that providing clean needles encourages drug use, rather than discourages needle sharing. Studies done by the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) argues that this response can be dangerous since it ignores other studies that demonstrate how clean needle exchange is an effective took for reducing HIV and hepatitis transmission. This program provides support for the inflected. Through access to counselors, treatment options, or education about safer needle use are all provided all from one program (Sosin, 2012). It can also benefit the larger community of drug users or those how suffer from hepatitis. A program in Rhode Island called ENCORE (Education, Needle Exchange, Counseling, Outreach, and Referrals) is designed for outreach to those at-risk individuals who may not otherwise present for prevention,