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The government should fund needle exchange programs, especially in these difficult economic times. The government should fund these programs for a few reasons. The prevention of users sharing dirty needles, at any amount, means less HIV/AIDS contracted cases. This is one element that could help stop the spread of the disease. Financially, it would also mean less money spent on medical treatment. Exchanging a user's dirty needle for a clean one costs very little money; when compared to money clinics need to treat every infected person for years on end. And, by helping to drastically reduce the number of infected people will also drastically reduce the need for government provided resources such as treatment, research, future AIDS awareness and prevention programs.

The logic behind the establishment of such programs are research, and common sense. Needle exchange programs are not condoning heroin addiction. Instead, the medical community has acknowledged how addictive heroin is, as well as how fatal this problem can be. When AIDS became an epidemic in the 1980's, many Heroin addicts were contracting the fatal illness because they were sharing dirty needles. There is absolutely no question that the ideal situation would be for people to stop using heroin. But despite 20 years of medical information, financial issues, and even criminal repercussions heroin addiction is still a problem existing in our society.

Unfortunately, it's a fact that until there is a reduction of illegal drugs coming into the country; people will continue to use them. By acknowledging this and addressing the prevention of the serious side effects of drug use, the government can at least treat the expensive long-term problems that are affecting this country.
According to speakout.com, needle exchange programs not only deter the spread of HIV/AIDS and other blood borne diseases by providing addicts with sterile needles otherwise difficult in obtaining, they also provide resources that lead users into treatment or drug counselors who discuss options.

According to Farrell, J; National HIV Prevention Conference, 2003, needle exchange programs in the United States have been effective in reducing HIV infections in users. Included in these programs are educational resources that inform participants on the dangers of sharing needles, confirmed to be effective by the Surgeon General. The report also noted that drug use did not increase, as many critics might claim. In addition, 48 states legally allow doctors to prescribe needles, which allow users to obtain new needles without violating the law. Without such legal means of obtaining needles, users are forced to re-use dirty needles. And, because obtaining needles via prescription is legal, this could drastically reduce the number of criminals in already over populated prisons, not to mention the money spent by the state to prosecute those illegally obtained needles.

The Lancet medical journal estimates that the government could have prevented 4,400 to 10,000 HIV infections among intravenous addicts between 1987 and 1995, had they funded a national needle exchange program. As a result, this would have saved over $500 million in health care costs. They also report that action taken in 1997 could have prevented another 11,000 infections by 2000, with savings of over $600 million in healthcare.

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