This Is Why: Poignant Words from Off the Streets Discussion Board

OK...as an X-IV drug user, I wil tell you first hand that we need to have clean needles available. Personally, I cannot count how many times I have shared works, just to not be sick!!! And that is someting I said I would NEVER, EVER do...as we all know, addiction is a disease of progression, and we will do whatever it takes to secure our fix. I recall picking up discarded works from the side of the street, and in gutters...horrible...I am grateful to have 2 years free of heroin now! I know to be cautious, all I have regained that was once lost could be lost again faster than one could ever imagine...we will not stop drug use all together...but we can provide the equipment needed to ensure drug use that will not spread the diseases of HIV and HEP C. I was active for 10 years and I did contract HEP C...by the grace of the Goddess (in which I choose to believe)...I am HIV negative...How this happened, I can only say that I was pulled from a life of degredation and pain...and I will be grateful for everyday that I have here on Earth...SOBER and CLEAN... I firmly support making needle kits available to help ensure public safety. I am not supporting drug use, but...an addict will stop at nothing to get what they need at that moment in time...why can't we make it just a little safer? Thanks for listening... 

(from Off the Streets Facebook Discussion Board, November 2009)

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.

Women Who Shoot Meth

From the Journal of Urban Health, May 2006 - Methamphetamine (MA) use is on the rise in the United States, with many cities reporting increases of 100% or more in MA-related Emergency Department (ED) mentions. Women are keeping pace with this trend: in 2003, 40% of ED mentions and 45% of MA-related treatment admissions were female.

This paper examines female methamphetamine injectors in San Francisco, CA, from 2003–2005. We assessed sexual and injection related risk behaviors, comparing female MA injectors to female injectors of other drugs. We also examined whether MA use was independently associated with specific sexual and injection risk behaviors. We found that female MA injectors were significantly more likely than non-MA injectors to report unprotected anal intercourse, multiple sexual partners, receptive syringe sharing and sharing of syringes with more than one person in the past six months.

• To read the complete paper "Sexual and Injection Risk among Women who Inject Methamphetamine in San Francisco" in the Journal of Urban Health, click here.

• The State of California Department of Public Health's Office of AIDS created a very informative fact sheet about sex and IDUs titled "Injection Drug Users and Their Sex/Needle-Sharing Partners." Click here to be linked to this information.

Central Valley Injection Drug Epidemic: WE'RE #1!!!

NEW YORK-A study published in the Journal of Urban Health (Sept. 2, 2004) indicates that rates of injection drug use in California’s Central Valley are among the nation’s highest. Researchers concluded that Fresno has the highest number of users of illegal injection drugs per capita of any large U.S. metropolitan area, above second-place Baltimore. To read the complete article on the Drug Policy Alliance Network website, click here.

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 .

Using and Reusing and Reusing and Reusing and Reusing and Reusing...

This is a fabulous image of what a needletip looks like after reuse. Imagine that needle goin' in time and time and time again. Some of the syringes we picked up over by Mono were in baaad shape ... can only imagine how many times they were used. The thing is this: the more times a needle is used, the more thrashed it gets, the greater the chances of other problems such as abcesses and vein trauma, the more pressure is put on the system to treat, and the more chances exist for disease to spread. The list of reasons for sterile syringe access goes on.....

How Do We Convince People It Doesn't Glamorize Drug Use?

We are one of but a few places with such a major need for syringe exchange that actually is led by people who believe exchanging needles glamorizes, supports, and increases drug use. It just doesn't make sense to me. On any level. SEPs are also still unauthorized in Colorado. Some of the same reasons are given there as are given here. People are just as confused there are they are here. And the picture of drug use is not that different in Colorado.

• Check out this article in the Denver Westword News - "Why doesn't Colorado get the point of needle exchange programs?". It talks about underground exchange and shares some personal stories - I enjoyed it.
• This article in Go-Go Magazine, "Surviving Heroin", is from 2000, but I found it to be a spectacular read, even if it is a little bit long. Although this was written almost 10 years ago, stuff ain't changin'. And the thing is, both these articles I linked you to from outta Colorado could really be Anywhere, USA. Lord knows it all applies to Stanislaus County, USA.

Research Disparity: County Hep C & Injection Drug Use Data Falls Short

Stanislaus County estimates 25-30% of injection drug users have Hepatitis C. But national data reflects 60 - 90% of injection drugs users have Hepatitis C. Hmmmm... if this is the data that the powers that be are relying on for our county we have a problem. Clearly this is not accurate information. Limited data such as this cannot be allowed to be a determining factor in our leaders' decisions around syringe exchange authorization. It is totally ridiculous that data such as this can even be considered close to reliable.

• What does the National Institute of Drug Abuse have to say about IDUs and Hep C? Click here for the first link, and then here for the second.
• For those of you who like research studies, click here for an interesting article about young IDUs.
• Don't know much about Hepatitis? Click here to be connected to the Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. Browse around the site to get their take on syringe access and disposal issues.

There is a ton of information out there. A good place to further your inquiry is through the 'Important Links' section on the lower left column of this blogspot.