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to treat a person with HIV or Hepatitis C. The cost of clean needles is minute compared to the daunting cost involved in a liver transplant.

The National Institute Of Health Says "An impressive body of evidence suggests powerful effects from needle exchange programs studies show reductions in risky behavior as high as 80%, and estimates of a 30% or greater of HIV in IDUs [ Intravenous drug Users]" The numbers are out and they overwhelmingly support needle exchange programs.

In 1988 the federal government ruled that federal funds were to be withheld until there was sufficient evidence by the office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services to support federal funding. In 1998 the Secretary of Health and Human Services announced that there was scientific evidence supporting needle exchange programs. The reports concluded that needle exchange programs were effective in preventing the spread of HIV and did not encourage drug use, but still the federal government has not passed legislature to provide funding.

Although there is no federal funding, needle exchange programs continue to operate in a variety of manners. Needle exchange programs receive private funding and operate primarily through volunteer workers and organizations. In some places the legality of needle exchange programs is an issue; for the most part the issue of legality is decided by local governments, as is the case in California. The exchange programs operate in 80 cities and 38 states.

The issue of federal funding is very important to the livelihood of these programs; many programs have issues finding the resources to operate. As with most preventive care it is far more cost effective to fund needle exchange programs than to treat HIV and Hepatitis C, and by funding needle exchange programs money would actually be save. The CDC says "Economic studies have calculated that SEPs [Syringe Exchange Programs] are also cost effective. At an average cost of $0.97 per syringe distributed, SEPs can save money in all IDU [Intravenous Drug User] populations. The cost per HIV infection prevented by SEPs has been calculated at $4,000 to $12,000, considerably less than the estimated $190,000 medical costs of treating a person infected with HIV.'

And although the American Medical association, the American Nurses Association, and the American Public Health Association, among others, support needle exchange programs, Needle exchange programs still face fierce opposition in many areas, nevertheless there are 113

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