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Government governs best which governs the least. The biggest role of government, especially at the federal level, is the defense of our country and its people. That is why I believe government should be funding needle exchange programs nationally. It is a question of national defense against the spread of contagious, infectious diseases.

Drug addicts who have difficulty getting needles will share and reuse other's needles. Therefore this population is becoming infected with very lethal and very expensive to treat diseases like HIV and Hepatitis C. When the addicts wind up in prison, as many do, we as taxpayers foot the bill to provide treatment for these diseases to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars per year per patient.

There also exists the public health risk to the general population, to include health care workers, emergency personnel, police and correctional officers, and the sexual partners of the infected addicts. In Washington D.C., not known for governmental efficiency or innovation, a needle exchange program has been in place for years. According to former Surgeon General David Satcher testifying before a Congressional committee recently, not only has there been a decrease in the reported cases of new HIV and Hepatitis C in D.C. but, to the surprise of those opposed to these programs, there has been no concomitant rise in the number of people using IV drugs. In the meantime, in parts of the country without exchange programs there has been an explosion in the incidence of Hepatitis C. Prisons throughout the country report as many as 30 to 50% of their inmates have Hepatitis C.

So, let's do the math: a couple of million bucks or so for a national needle exchange that will prevent serious public health problems and not increase I.V. drug use or spending many tens of millions trying to treat infected addicts and others. I say let's use common sense and good public health practices by funding needle exchange programs.

Learn more about this author, Jeff Vidrine.
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