How Injecting Drugs Can be Helpful Essay Sample

In 2020 nearly 100,000 people died of drug overdose in just one single year. This was a 30% increase from the previous year and since then it has just continued to rise. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention it was the highest single year increase ever recorded (Katz 1). Also in 2020, there were 37.7 million people living with HIV and within that number about 6 million were unaware of their condition and 680,000 people died from HIV related illnesses. (“Global HIV & AIDS statistics” 2). HIV or Human Immunodeficiency Virus is a virus that attacks the body's cells that help fight infection and if left untreated can lead to AIDS or Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. However there is no cure, if infected the host carries the virus for the rest of its life. HIV is spread by contact with bodily fluids, most commonly through unprotected sex but also through sharing drug injection equipment. Since there is no cure for HIV a lot of the focus is on prevention of the disease, one way to do that is using Needle Exchange Programs and safe injection sites. Research shows that Needle Exchange Programs help reduce the spread of viral infections like HIV and also save money in the meantime (Frakt 1). Clean needle programs should be implemented across the nation to reduce disease transmission and minimize harm.

Needle Exchange Programs are community based programs that provide many services such as access to sterile needles, promote safe disposal of used needles, and link the users to local services like rehabilitation programs, HIV and other disease screening, and educational programs (“Syringe Services Programs” 1). Some Needle Exchange Programs will even test the drugs being used to make sure they are not laced with another more lethal drug like fentanyl. These locations are completely legal and the users that seek refuge there can not be criminally convicted. There has been extensive research done on the effectiveness of Needle Exchange Programs and almost all the research found that these programs help people to stop using drugs. According to the CDC new users of Needle Exchange Programs are five times more likely to join rehabilitation and treatment programs. In addition people who use Needle Exchange Programs regularly are three times as likely to report a decrease in injection frequency than those who do not utilize the programs (“Syringe Service Programs” 4).  When people are more likely to enter treatment programs for substance abuse it increases the likelihood of recovery and decreases the number of overdoses. With overdose being the leading cause of death for people under the age of 50, it is vital that action be taken to reduce the number of people dying of overdoses, and Needle Exchange Programs are proving to be a great way to do so. 

Equally important, Needle Exchange Programs also diminish transmission of deadly diseases like HIV. Originally this was the main goal of implementing the programs since one-third of all AIDS cases in the United States are caused by injection drug users (Vlahov 1). When the outbreak of HIV in Scott County, Indiana was traced back to dirty needles, although reluctant, Governor Mike Pence turned to Needle Exchange Programs to stop the outbreak. An HIV researcher from Yale, Gregg Gonsalves believes that Pence "waited till it was too little, too late. These needle exchanges were put into place in the most grudging manner…It was a disaster that didn't need to happen." a disaster that would have been prevented if the Needle Exchange Programs had been implemented earlier (Ungar 17). The programs should be implemented all around not only the United States but the world inorder to prevent future outbreaks like the one in Scott County. It is imperative that people put aside their previous prejudices and tear down walls in order to carry out that goal. In addition to the Scott County epidemic, a study done in Tacoma, Washington found that, due to Needle Exchange Programs, HIV infection rates decreased by 33% and the positive effects heavily outweigh the negative (Vlahov 1). From this collection of data it can be assumed that the 52% decrease in HIV cases since the emergence of the crisis in 1997 can be partially attributed to Needle Exchange Programs.

Harm reduction is not the only benefit of Needle Exchange Programs, they are also incredibly cost effective. Again in Scott County, the 235 people that were diagnosed with HIV had an estimated lifetime treatment cost of over $100 million. According to the CDC, to treat one patient with HIV for life it costs an estimated $450,000. Each year hospitals spend over $700 million on substance-use-related infections like HIV (“Syringe Service Programs” 8). Since it has been found that Needle Exchange Programs have been found to reduce transmission of diseases and overall harm by over two-thirds it is safe to say that implementing more programs would help save money. In 2021 The American Rescue Plan Act allotted $30 million dollars for more than 400 Needle Exchange Programs and other harm reduction treatments and programs in 40 states across the nation (Pelkowski 6). While that seems like a strikingly large amount of money at first, it is only a fraction of the money spent each year on just HIV patients and one dollar invested into Needle Exchange Programs saves at least six dollars spent on HIV care (Frakt 5). The next step is to change the stigma around Needle Exchange Programs and break down the legislative barriers that are currently stopping these programs from being implemented everywhere. 

Getting everyone on board with Needle Exchange Programs has proven to be the most difficult part. Most people who are against Needle Exchange Programs say that the programs promote drug use and other unhealthy behavior, they argue that the programs are not morally sound. The mother of a recovering addict, Nicole Thomas says that  “It is enabling them as if they are getting money from a family member,” and the programs do more harm than good (Ungar 19). A majority of the people who believe what Nicole Thomas wants the focus to be on getting addicts into recovery and getting them clean. Although this is a shared interest from both sides unfortunately most addicts will relapse once out of rehab and will not reach full recovery until they want to. Whether there are Needle Exchange Programs or not, people will still inject drugs no matter what. So why not try to make it a little bit safer in the meantime and lessen the number of people dying per day? Sean Allen, a researcher of public health and infectious diseases from John Hopkins University says that “Policies that limit syringe access are not in the best interest of public health,...they need to be accessible to work.” (Frakt 12). Implementing Needle Exchange Programs is making one sacrifice to save the many.

Overall Needle Exchange Programs are public health tools that should be administered across the United States in order to reduce harm done by the deadly disease that plagues the World, addiction. These programs have been studied by multiple scientists and researchers that have helped to prove that they not only reduce harm, but increase recovery and are cost efficient while doing it. Over 20 million Americans are currently dealing with addiction, but not by choice. Addiction is a disease that changes the way someone's brain works, it alters the way someone makes decisions and functions, and it deserves to be treated with the same medical care and attention as any other disease.