“I was a hardcore meth dealer in this town for 20 years,” Randy muses as he reclines in his foldout chair and slides a cigarette behind his ear. In the background, volunteers unload boxes of syringes from the nearby van, and set up supplies and pamphlets on portable tables. “Pretty much all of the drug addicts that are here are drug addicts that I used to deal drugs to, “ he explains.

Randy Burnett is a volunteer with Eugene, Oregon’s HIV Alliance, Lane County’s only needle exchange program. After 57 different felony convictions and nine years in prison, Randy decided he wanted to change his life around. He began volunteering with the HIV Alliance in order to give back to the lives he felt he destroyed as a methamphetamine dealer.

“I’m just doing as much as I can to give back. I was Satan’s soldier for a good number of years, and now I can go on the other side of the fence,” says Randy.

Randy is living proof that local needle exchange programs are valuable resources that provide beneficial services to injection drug users and thwart the spread of disease such as HIV/AIDs and Hepatitis C. However, not all community members accept the idea of supporting needle exchange programs. Many people believe that needle exchange programs enable addicts to continue their dangerous drug habits. The controversy surrounding needle exchange programs causes many to question, should communities support needle exchange programs?

Jeff Nichols, the coordinator of the HIV Alliance needle exchange program supports needle exchange programs for the benefits they provide to the injection drug users (IDUs) and the local community. The HIV Alliance provides a needle exchange in a safe location where IDUs can bring their used needles and exchange them for sterile needles. The used needles are then taken to a hospital where they are burned. The Eugene Police Department has an agreement with the HIV Alliance to ensure that IDUs feel comfortable exchanging needles without the risk of legal issues.

Jeff Nichols believes that needle exchange programs are crucial to IDUs because not only do clean needles help lower the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS or Hepatitis C, but also because the programs provide rehab and detox services, free testing and access to health care. As an adult, if an addict is not ready to quit, they are not going to. However, the needle exchange provides a way for these addicts to have access to crucial services until they are ready to quit. As Jeff Nichols expains, “Needle exchange programs provide a safe haven where users can go and receive treatment or services that they might not otherwise be offered in the community.”

Not only are IDUs affected by the HIV Alliance, but it also provides safer public spaces. Needle exchanges conduct needle clean-ups, where the communities are scoured for used needles and then disposed of properly. This needle clean-up ultimately provides a safer environment for the public. By integrating needle exchange programs in a community, IDUs are given a safe injection opportunity and they are encouraged to receive treatment.

However, not all community members are willing to support needle exchange programs. Some believe that needle exchange programs enable addicts to continue their drug habits, and therefore increase the use of injection drugs. This concern, which was valid when needle exchange programs were introduced over 30 years ago, is disproved by numerous accredited medical journals and field studies. Research from a study by Yale University shows that needle exchange programs dramatically reduce the amount of drug injection use, and reduce the risk of HIV/AIDS transmission by one-third (Yale).

In 1988, the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services stated that federal funding to clean needle organizations would remain at a standstill until they could prove that distributing clean needles could reduce the spread of HIV. As of 2010, government support and funding is still absent and is a major contributing factor to why these programs are still looked upon with skepticism.

Contrary to the arguments against the implementation of the needle exchange programs, evidence still shows that these programs reduce the number of users across the country. For individuals looking to change their habits and current lifestyle, these programs offer supportive services for treatment and recovery to individuals who may not have access to social services otherwise.

The primary counterargument focuses on President Obama’s new plan for the “war on drugs”, because the statistics demonstrate the success of these programs. One press release with details of Obama’s new plan states, “Obama signed a measure repealing a two-decade-old ban on the use of federal money for needle-exchange programs to reduce the spread of HIV” (Fox News Online). This governmental support of the needle exchange programs is further justified by, “the new drug control strategy boosts community-based anti-drug programs, encourages health care providers to screen for drug problems before addiction sets in and expands treatment beyond specialty centers to mainstream health care facilities” (Hananel, Associated Press).

The new plan focuses primarily on community programs because past policies concentrated on law enforcement. That approach wasted a significant amount of money because users cycled through the criminal justice system, rather than being directed to facilities that target the actual drug use (Modern HealthCare Online). If users lack the education, information and resources, then they will continue to practice their habits and view prison as a trivial process.

While the Obama administration strives to work with needle exchange programs, there is still a long way to go. To achieve a decrease in current users, communities must support needle exchange programs. Needle exchange programs go beyond solely providing services in order to transform lifestyles. Research proves that it is a viable, cost-effective solution to decreasing injection drug use, and stopping the spread of disease (Yale)

According to Randy, there is no argument against needle exchange programs. He wants to continue volunteering with the HIV Alliance because he truly believes in the effectiveness of the program. To Randy, the needle exchange had a significant, positive impact on his life, which he would not have received otherwise.

“Today I am just a helper,” Randy says with a smile. “That’s all I want to do is see people change their lives. Because if I can do it, anyone can do it.”

[Further details regarding Obama’s new plan can be found in the blog post titled, “New Plan for ‘War on Drugs’”.]