World AIDS Day 2009: The War on Drugs is NOT WORKING

(December 1, 2009, London) - Governments worldwide should take urgent action to reform punitive drug laws, disproportionate penalties, and harsh and discriminatory law enforcement practices as part of their efforts to address HIV among people who use drugs, Human Rights Watch and the International Harm Reduction Association said today, World AIDS Day. Current policies also cause needless suffering among people living with HIV/AIDS, the two groups said in a joint briefing note released today.

International health and drug control agencies - including the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, UNAIDS, UNICEF, the United Nations Development Program, and the World Health Organization - all endorse comprehensive harm reduction services as the best ways to address HIV among people who use drugs, including those in detention. These services include needle and syringe exchange, medication-assisted therapy (for example, with methadone), and peer outreach and education programs. Notwithstanding broad endorsement and overwhelming scientific evidence that these approaches work, they are out of reach for the vast majority of people who need them.

• For the complete story posted on the Human Rights Watch website click here.

Need More Convincing? Read "The Needle Nexus"

New York Times Magazine, November 17, 2009 - Needle exchange is AIDS prevention that works. While no one wants to have to put on a condom, every drug user prefers injecting with a clean needle. In 2003, an academic review of 99 cities around the world found:

• cities with needle exchange saw their H.I.V. rates among injecting drug users drop 19 percent a year.
• cities without needle exchange had an 8 percent increase per year.

Contrary to popular fears, needle exchange has not led to more drug use or higher crime rates. Studies have also found that drug addicts participating in needle ­exchanges are more likely to enter rehabilitation programs. Using needle exchange as part of a comprehensive attack on H.I.V. is endorsed by virtually every relevant United Nations and United States-government agency.

Drug injectors don’t pass infection only among themselves. Through their sex partners, H.I.V. is spread into the general population. In many countries, the H.I.V. epidemic began among drug injectors. In Russia in 2000, for example, needle-sharing was directly responsible for more than 95 percent of all cases of H.I.V. infection. So virtually all those with H.I.V. in Russia can trace their infection to a shared needle not many generations back. Though it has been scorned as special treatment for a despised population, AIDS prevention for drug users is in fact crucial to preventing a wider epidemic.

Read the complete story in The New York Times Magazine here.

CA State Office of AIDS: Surviving 80% Budget Cuts

The Office of AIDS (OA) has lead responsibility for coordinating state programs, services, and activities relating to HIV/AIDS.

Although recent budget cuts have been traumatic to say the least, the Office of AIDS remains an extremely valuable resource for all educators, students, public health advocates, community members, syringe exchange programs, and communities still struggling to become authorized.

• Click here to visit their website. The site offers a variety of information including links to many other valuable resources.

Drug Use Doesn't Know County Lines: From Modesto to Alameda County

The lack of authorization in Stanislaus County doesn't just affect Stanislaus County. I found the link below in my research and followed up by having the information confirmed with a couple of reliable sources in Alameda County. We were also provided with some very valuable support data that reflects exactly how much strain Modestans place on Alameda County services. Sure serves as a reminder that we don't live in a bubble ... gee, imagine that. From the Alameda County Board of Supervisors' Health Committee meeting , February 23, 2004:

• When asked by Supervisor Carson how many people the HEPAC program in Alameda serves weekly, Executive Director Joy Rucker answered: "Approximately 5000 people use a wide variety of services, including HIV and Hepatitis C testing, abscess wound care and acupuncture. A large number of clients are served from Modesto, CA for needle exchange because there are no exchange services in (Stanislaus) County."
• For the complete report, see the Alameda County BOS Health Committee Summary Action Minutes .

The Civil Grand Jury Report: The First Big Step

The steps leading up to today are many - but perhaps one of the biggest leaps was the 2007-2008 Civil Grand Jury report recommending syringe exchange as a viable (& necessary) prevention option for Stanislaus County. As many of us already know, the vote before the BOS went against public health and social service recommendations 4-0. As it turned out, the Supervisors sided with the weak arguments and unsupported testimonies of law enforcement, ignoring the common sense, experienced, and realistic arguments of those in the know. So we move forward .... one step at a time ..........

• To read the complete 2007-2008 report from the Stanislaus County Civil Grand Jury, click here. Some attachments are missing but can be obtained from the Grand Jury office at (209) 558-7766
• To read the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors' response, click here.

To read some of the write-ups in the Modesto Bee during this period, click below:

• July 2, 2008 by Adam Ashton
• July 11, 2008 Letter to the Editor (Against syringe exchange)
• July 19, 2008 Letter to the Editor
• September 17, 2008 by Tim Moran
• Click here and scroll down to page 4 for a Letter to the Editor of the Bee from former Civil Grand juror Elizabeth Vencill after the BOS decision (this is no longer in the Bee archive for some reason - I found this link on the HCV advocate website.)

A few interesting tidbits from the Civil Grand Jury Report:

• The direct lifetime cost of one HIV/AIDS patient - $144,000 - $600,000; one Hepatitis C patient - $100,00 (if a liver transplant is needed add an additional $300,000)
• These figures do not include some of the social implications of lost wages, disability benefits, unemployment, lost tax revenue and social security benefits. Not to mention all of the other implications ...
• Hepatitis C is the second most frequently transmitted communicable disease in Stanislaus County - called the "Giant in the Closet" by Stanislaus County Health Services Agency
• At least 70% and up to 90% of injection drug users in US have Hep C.
• New cases of Hep C in Stanislaus County were projected at 11.9 per week in 2008.
• 33.4 % of HIV/AIDS cases in Stanislaus County are directly related to injection drug use.
• Syringe exchange programs reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C to law enforcement, health care providers, family members, newborn infants, sexual partners, and uninfected injection drug users.