UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Monday, February 28, 1994
9
Needle exchange programs aim to stop spread of AIDS
Andrea Hamilton The Associated Press
NEW YORK — It's 5:30 p.m., the appointed time, and people start lining up. Slowly, the storefront office begins to fill. The room is thick with cigarette smoke, heat and the funky smell of dirty clothes and unwashed bodies.
Business is conducted quickly, and conversation consists of a quiet "hello," "thank you" and "goodbye."
Jack sticks his needles into a red container for contaminated medical waste, and replenishes his supply at a table covered with new syringes, alcohol, condoms and paraphernalia for cooking drugs.
The homeless, 31-year-old man with stringy red hair has been shooting heroin since he was 12, and he's been coming to the needle exchange for about a year.
"I have AIDS, and I don't want to give it to nobody else," he says. "I don't want to kill someone just because I want to party."
There are more than 200,000 intravenous drug users in New York City, and about 50 percent of them are infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
It is the highest HIV infection rate in the world among drug addicts, and when people like Jack do not share needles, other addicts, spouses, lovers and unborn children are spared.
At least 37 cities have needle exchange programs, including New York, San Francisco, Tacoma, Wash, New Haven, Conn., and the college town of Boulder, Colo. More are being established all the time.
A growing number of studies indicates that needle exchange programs are slowing the spread of AIDS. And maybe most importantly, supporters say, the studies show there is no proof that needle exchange increases drug use.
Supporters want the federal government to lift a ban against funding the programs, most of which now receive county, state or foundation money.
But they face opposition from people like Herbert Kleber, a deputy of federal drug czar William Bennett during the Bush administration and now a professor of psychiatry at Columbia University.
Kleber said that stopping the spread of HIV through needle exchange is laudable but that the main goal should be to get people off drugs.
"I have no problem with local volunteer organizations doing needle exchange," he said. "But I don't think the government should be involved, or pay for it. I think that's exactly the wrong message to send."
Supporters say more drug treatment would be great, but meanwhile, people are spreading HIV and dying.
"This is a completely preventable epidemic," said Brian Weil, a referral specialist with the Bronx-Harlem Needle Exchange, one of five programs in New York City. "It's not realistic to expect everyone to quit using drugs and go into treatment. It just doesn't work that way."
The way it works can be best described through the story of Dan, a first-time visitor to the Lower East Side needle exchange.
The 27-year-old began injecting heroin after he lost a leg four years ago after being hit by a truck while
riding his motorcycle.
The heroin dulled the pain of his injuries. Dan is a locksmith, but he has never returned to work full time. He says he lives off his insurance settlement and his disability pay.
"You pay about $2 to $3 for a new one," he said. "But it's a hassle. There isn't always someone at a set location selling them."
New York is one of nine states where syringes cannot be sold without a prescription. Before he heard about the needle exchange, Dan, like many addicts, was either sharing needles with others or buying them on the street, sometimes used, sometimes new.
In discussions about needle exchange, advocates raise the specter of paying for needles now or paying for AIDS later, and they cite New York City as their worst nightmare.
The lifetime cost for a person with AIDS is estimated at $102,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Boulder began its program in 1989 after health officials learned that three couples and a single man were HIV positive.
"We tried to get ahead of the game," said Anne Goulofille, the adult health program manager with the Boulder County Health Department.
Guilfoile said no one in the exchange program has become HIV positive. She estimates the rate of infection among the city's 800 intravenous drug users at 2 percent.
"Look at New York, where it is so out of control," she said. "We're trying to do prevention at a point where we can still win."
THE NEWS in brief
Weigand dies, leaves behind him a legacy of real estate in Wichita
WICHITA — Nestor Weigand Sr., who turned a father-and-son business into one of the largest real estate firms in south central Kansas, died Friday at age 86.
Funeral services are scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday at Church of the Magdalen.
Weigand graduated from Cathedral High School in Wichita and attended Notre Dame University before returning to Wichita without a degree. He joined the firm in 1927.
Weigand once was described as a "walking encyclopedia for real estate in the Wichita-core area." Until his death, which was caused by complications from a stroke three weeks ago, he served as chairman of the board of J.P. Weigand & Sons.
Weigand also is survived by his sons, Nestor Jr. and Michael, of Wichita; two daughters, Joan Sargent of Wichita and Kathryn Greenleaf of Liberal; a brother, Gene Weigand of Wichita; 13 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
"This was just a mechanism to get her into the system," police Sgt. Bob Disbennett said yesterday. "We don't anticipate her going to jail.
Girl admits to killing cousin
"They're not here to crucify a 12-year-old who committed a crime when she was 3," he said. "This is a situation where they try to get this girl the help she needs."
The girl admitted to the committing the crime on Friday and turned herself in on Saturday to face the murder charge. The charge was placed under a category of juvenile delinquency.
CINCINNATI — A 12-year-old girl turned herself in for the nine-year-old death of a 13-month-old cousin and has been charged with murder so she can get help, police said yesterday.
The girl, whose name was not released, was 3 years old at the time of Lamar Howell's death.
Police and the Hamilton County coroner originally had determined that the boy accidentally drowned in a bucket of bleach and water on July 22, 1984, while playing with his cousin.
Police believe they know the motive, but would not discuss it, Disbennett said. He also would not say why the girl decided to go to police.
A hearing was scheduled in Hamilton County Juvenile Court for today.
The judge could dismiss the case, require counseling, commit her or take other actions, Disbennett said.
Kids to design new stamps
WASHINGTON — America's youngsters are being invited to design a set of four postage stamps focusing on the environment.
The U.S. Postal Service and McDonald's Corp. are co-sponsoring the stamp design contest. The post office said it would use the designs on stamps to be issued in 1995.
The four winning designs will be printed on nearly 200 million first-class stamps next year, said William Henderson of the Postal Service.
The contest opens March 4, and entries must be received by April 30. The contest is open to children ages 8 to 13 who are legal residents of the United States.
Enter forms will be available at post offices and McDonald's restaurants and also will be included in environmental information packets being sent to elementary and middle schools across the country.
Stamp designs must focus on ways to protect, preserve or restore the environment.
The four winners will be selected from a group of 102 finalists. The winners each will receive an additional $3,000 in savings bonds and a trip for three to Washington to attend a stamp ceremony.
Individuals also can get a contest entry form by sending a stamped, self-addressed envelope to Stamp Rules, P.O. Box 698, Gibbstown, N.J., 08027-0689.
Compiled by The Associated Press.
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