Benefit Show in Fresno Rolls On Despite Wet Weather

Rain kept the gathering small, but about 20-30 people showed up to enjoy the Modesto Needle Exchange Legal Defense Fund Benefit Show on December 12. Performers included Watercolor Paintings, Johnny Young, Fern, and Taylor Price. Fresno Needle Exchange volunteer and California Prison Moratorium Project organizer Ashley Fairburn spoke on behalf of the Modesto Needle Exchange defendants. Fairburn spoke about the well-documented effectiveness of syringe exchange in reducing the costly spread of HIV and Hepatitis C, both prevalent in the Central Valley, and connecting those who use drugs to treatment services. She also spoke about the criminalization of the Modesto volunteers' public health interventions in Stanislaus County, and the ongoing failures of the Drug War, citing several examples from both here and abroad. About $112 was raised and great discussions about the efficacy of syringe exchange were had.

Thank you to the organizers, performers and attendees - and all supporters of needle exchange programs, harm reduction approaches, and using facts over politics.