Posted on: Sunday, February 17, 2002

EDITORIAL
Additional evidence favors needle exchange

A new report on the state's 12-year-old needle exchange program sheds light on the shadowy world of intravenous drug use in Hawai'i. And if the numbers are accurate, drug use is thriving.

Last year a record number of needles (347,793) were exchanged. The average age of those who traded in their syringes for clean ones was 41, and the average length of time they had been injecting drugs was 18 years. The most popular injected drug was heroin, but intravenous amphetamine use is on the rise.

The good news is that all this activity hasn't increased the spread of HIV, which is the central point of the exchange program.

In fact, according to the report by Don Des Jarlais, a New York consultant who is monitoring the state's needle exchange program, HIV cases here have declined. Moreover, only five of the 57 AIDS cases reported in Hawai'i in 2001 were linked to intravenous drug use, which is strong evidence that the program is working.

All this bodes well for needle exchange, which has been criticized by those who say the program sanctions and even encourages intravenous drug use. There is mounting evidence that such efforts prevent the spread of HIV and hepatitis. Who knows what sort of public health crisis Hawai'i might face if IV drug users were sharing dirty needles?

That's something we don't need to find out. Let's keep this program going.