MORGANTOWN — The CDC offers an abundance of resources and guidance for syringe service programs — SSPs, or needle exchanges. Many elements of SB 334, which the governor signed into law Thursday, require exactly what the CDC warns against.
Here are some examples, and some quotes about the benefits of harm reduction programs — of which needle exchanges are the gateway for reaching the people in need.
SB 334 sets a goal of 1-to-1 exchange, which can be fulfilled by weighing needles collected in a transparent sharps container. CDC says, “Restrictive syringe access policies are associated with higher infection risk behaviors and higher rates of HIV and other bloodborne infections … Although restrictive syringe distribution approaches such as 1:1 exchange may seem desirable, in fact, they are associated with increased syringe sharing and increased risk of infection among PWID [people who inject drugs] and are therefore not recommended.”
SB 334 requires client identification and that a program “ensures a syringe is unique to the syringe services program.” CDC advises programs to “ensure low-threshold access to services, encourage participant confidentiality, and minimize administrative burden.”
SB 334 requires that a program “shall distribute the syringe directly to the program recipient” and forbids secondary exchange — picking up syringes for other clients. CDC says, “Increasing the number of syringes among PWID through distribution by peers helps to reach the goal of providing a sterile syringe for each injection … Secondary syringe exchange programs increase SSP reach and effectiveness.”
That’s what SB 334 aims to do wrong. Here is what CDC says about effective programs.
“Studies show that SSPs protect the public and first responders by providing safe needle disposal and reducing the presence of needles in the community. SSPs do not cause or increase illegal drug use. They do not cause or increase crime.
“SSPs reduce health care costs by preventing HIV, viral hepatitis, and other infections, including endocarditis, a life-threatening heart valve infection. The estimated lifetime cost of treating one person living with HIV is more than $450,000. Hospitalizations in the U.S. for substance-use-related infections cost over $700 million each year. SSPs reduce these costs and help link people to treatment to stop using drugs.
“SSPs help people overcome substance-use disorders. If people who inject drugs use an SSP, they are more likely to enter treatment for substance use disorder and reduce or stop injecting. A Seattle study found that new users of SSPs were five times as likely to enter drug treatment as those who didn’t use the programs.
“People who inject drugs and who have used an SSP regularly are nearly three times as likely to report reducing or stopping illicit drug injection as those who have never used an SSP. SSPs play a key role in preventing overdose deaths by training people who inject drugs how to prevent, rapidly recognize, and reverse opioid overdoses. Specifically, many SSPs give clients and community members “overdose rescue kits” and teach them how to identify an overdose, give rescue breathing, and administer naloxone, a medication used to reverse overdose.”
TWEET David Beard@dbeardtdp
EMAIL dbeard@dominionpost.com
