Should Free Syringes Be Provided to Addicts? A Discussion on Harm Reduction and Public Health
One of the significant risk factors for contracting HIV is found among individuals who use needles to inject drugs. This risk stems from the potential for exposure to HIV through the sharing of contaminated needles and syringes. When needles and syringes are shared among individuals who inject drugs, blood containing HIV can be transferred from one person to another, facilitating the transmission of the virus. Currently, America is facing an opioid crisis, with the number of drug users increasing daily. As such, the more drug users increase, the more likely diseases like HIV will spread out as more and more people share needles.
In my opinion, needle exchange programs (NEPs) are one strategy aimed at reducing the risk of HIV transmission among people who inject drugs. By providing sterile needles and syringes to individuals who inject drugs, NEPs help prevent the sharing of contaminated injection equipment, thereby reducing the likelihood of HIV transmission within this population. This is supported by Packham (2022) who conducted a study on the effect of syringe exchange programs and found that these programs resulted in an 18.2% reduction in HIV rates. Further, additionally, NEPs often offer other services such as HIV testing, counseling, and referrals to substance use treatment programs, which can further reduce the risk of HIV transmission and support the overall health and well-being of individuals who inject drugs. Värmå et al., (2020), found that while the main motivation for drug users to join the needle exchange program is to get sterilized needles, the second motivation was the other health services that came with the program.
Nevertheless, it could also be argued that providing sterilized needles to drug users enables them to continue being addicts because suppose there were no such programs, some users may stop using because they are scared of contracting lifelong diseases. However, I think that the benefits of the needle exchange program outweigh the cons because then only one problem, which is drug addiction is the challenge instead of two which would be drug addiction and HIV infections.
References
Packham, A. (2022). Syringe exchange programs and harm reduction: New evidence in the wake of the opioid epidemic. Journal of Public Economics, 215, 104733.
Värmå Falk, M., Strömdahl, S., Ekström, A. M., Kåberg, M., Karlsson, N., Dahlborn, H., & Hammarberg, A. (2020). A qualitative study of facilitators and barriers to participate in a needle exchange program for women who inject drugs. Harm Reduction Journal, 17, 1-10.
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Question
After reading the chapter on HIV/AIDS, discuss your views on whether we should be giving free syringes to addicts.
Please provide and reference two scholarly articles to support your thoughts.