Preventing HIV is a very good thing. The Atlantic has a post about the role of needle exchanges in preventing HIV. It makes a pretty compelling case that needle exchanges reduce HIV infection rates among injection drug users. I don't doubt this. And, provided it serves as an engagement point for recovery, I have no … Continue reading Worth Every Penny?
Tag: HIV
The surgery was a success, but…
Public health workers are declaring their harm reduction approach a success: Harm reduction — not a war on drugs — has reduced illicit drug use and improved public safety in what was once Ground Zero for an HIV and overdose epidemic that cost many lives, says a 15-year study of drug use in Vancouver's impoverished … Continue reading The surgery was a success, but…
Number one cause of death among the homeless
Wow. Overdoses of drugs, particularly prescription painkillers and heroin, have overtaken AIDS to become the leading cause of death of homeless adults, according to a study of homeless residents of Boston released on Monday. The finding came from a five-year study of homeless adults who received treatment from the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, though its … Continue reading Number one cause of death among the homeless
More on methadone
Points is publishing a series on methadone and offers a case for methadone without resorting to describing it as "the most effective treatment for opiate addiction." It's a pretty fair piece. I had only one quibble with the facts of the story. This is unusual and very welcome. However, the author and I disagree starkly … Continue reading More on methadone
Two stories on methadone
First, DEATHS among drug users have hit a record high in Scotland, increasing by a fifth in 2011, the latest government figures reveal. Last year 584 people died from drug use, which means that drugs now account for one in every 100 deaths in Scotland. The heroin substitute, methadone, was at the heart of the … Continue reading Two stories on methadone
Harsh enforcement has failed
This Foreign Policy article provides a concise snapshot of the failure of the "harsh enforcement" approach to drug policy: As a domestic policy, a harsh enforcement approach has done little to control drug use, but has done a lot to lock up a growing portion of the U.S. population. Cocaine and opiate prices are about half … Continue reading Harsh enforcement has failed
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