Position statement on federal funding ban

At the end of last year the US reinstated the ban on federal needle exchange funding this applied both nationally and internationally. Since then there have been many who have condemned this ban as counterproductive and hypocritical. This combined with the fact that many states still outlaw needle exchanges highlights the increasingly poor policy employed by the US government and states when it comes to harm reduction.

The decision to reinstate the ban seems very bizarre considering the fact that there is no scientific evidence which links needle exchanges to any serious negative consequences such as increases in drug use or increase in crime. Furthermore needle exchanges are a cost effective way at preventing a HIV epidemic. 

On world Aids Day President Obama committed the US to continue funding HIV/Aids program. When the majority of studies indicate that needle exchanges help reduce the spread of HIV Presidents Obama's commitment can only be seen as hollowed words. This federal ban has brought up the very real prospects that HIV rates could increase among IDU's.

US lawmakers need to stop trying to gain short sighted political points and instead look at what needs to be done.  Needle exchanges do not encourage drug use but merely helps reduce the risk of blood borne diseases. If anything needle exchanges can be viewed as a stepping stone where drug users could gain access to further treatments and options which could help them reduce their drug use.

A position statement has been put online to allow people to formally express their opposition to the reinstatement of the syringe exchange funding ban. The statement has already been signed by several activists and academics who agree that this ban is detrimental and just plain wrong.

The position statement says that “[w]e, the undersigned, condemn the December 2011 reinstatement of the U.S. Congressional ban on the use of federal funds to support needle and syringe programs (NSPs) both domestically and internationally. The ban on U.S. federal funds for NSPs was enacted in 1988, but had been repealed by Congress in 2009, after 8 U.S. federally funded reports and a plethora of international research consistently showed that NSPs can reduce syringe-sharing, HIV prevalence and incidence and are cost-effective.”

The position statement is meant to put pressure on congress and the government to repeal this ban. It urges the US government and congress to repeal the ban immediately before this 'deadly public policy' damages even more lives.

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