Harm Reduction in Washington, DC

An article in last week’s New York Times describes the bureaucratic pressures that threaten the existence of Washington, DC’s needle exchange prgroams:

Since Washington is not part of a state, Congress controls the city’s local system of government, and for nearly a decade members of the House, citing concerns about worsening drug abuse, have inserted language into the bill approving the city’s budget to prohibit financing such programs.

That may soon change.

“This city’s situation is totally improper,” said Representative José E. Serrano, Democrat of New York and chairman of the subcommittee responsible for the District of Columbia appropriations bill. “It’s politically obscene to have Congress tell the District of Columbia that it can’t use local funds for something like needle exchange programs, which have been proven to have a major effect on fighting a deadly disease.”

The politics that surround Washington, DC’s funding issues are unique to that city, but the resistance on the part of politicians and bureaucrats isn’t. Needle exchange programs have been shown, time and again, to reduce the spread of infectious disease, but those who would support needle exchange run up frequently against the “war on drugs” mentality that has long viewed drug use as a moral blight, and drug users as criminals. An excellent review of the barriers to implementing needle exchange programs is found at here (pdf).

Do you have needle exchange programs in your region? What has been your experience with them?