We’ve been talking about opiate laws recently and one of the first ones that caught my attention was the 1924 Heroin Act which made manufacturing, importing or possessing heroin illegal in the United States, even if it was going to be used for medicinal purposes. Heroin, an opiate, is one of many drugs whose positive side effect is the relief of pain, but whose negative effects include extreme addiction. Extreme. And almost immediate. I know people who can snort it occasionally for years and not get strung out but shoot it once, and it’s all over. There’s a reason why dope is a Schedule I drug.

Other Countries and Their View of Heroin

But what has me thinking is that Britain and a few other countries haven’t outlawed the use of heroin, although they have established laws that control its usage. In places like Switzerland, people who have failed multiple withdrawal programs are allowed to receive injections of heroin in a controlled environment for a small fee. Britain, on the other hand, is more stringent in allowing people to use heroin, and a very small number of people are even prescribed the drug. This is a vast difference from the United States, of course, where heroin isn’t prescribed or allowed at all even for medicinal purposes. Of course, we have morphine instead, but it’s not like these other countries don’t. Why do they still use heroin medicinally? Do they know something we don’t?

So Who’s Is Right?
 
The arguments made against heroin being made legal are numerous, and the primary one is that it is as addictive as morphine. It’s interesting to note that in the early days of heroin, it was marketed as a non-addictive morphine substitute before it was discovered that that is not true. They put it in cough syrup and headache tonics. It definitely cures a headache. 
 
What do you think? Is there any viable medicinal use for heroin? Are the countries that still use it or prescribe it behind the times or are we?

Imagine a world in which the distribution of clean needles is not only legal but convenient, not relegated to two-hour exchanges in a back alley or handed out surreptitiously in the park after midnight. Imagine, if you will, that there are actual vending machines which dispense clean needles, guaranteed to be brand new and disease free, any time of the day. Sounds like a strange plot detail in a futuristic script, doesn’t it? Well, if it does, then the future has found the Czech Republic, ladies and gentlemen.

What They’re Saying About Needles in Vending Machines

According to Medical News Today and the CTK/Prague Daily Monitor, the citizens of Prague may now access clean needles from two automatic syringe machines.  Says Medical News Today:

“The machines – the first to be installed in the country – provide a syringe and disinfection materials for 20 Czech koruna, or about $1.25. A second packet for 30 koruna, or about $1.90, also includes clean water, vitamin C and a special substance to dilute drugs. The project was launched by the group PROGRESSIVE to provide constant access to clean syringes, even if pharmacies are closed…. If the pilot project in Prague is successful, it could be expanded to other parts of the country.”

Why is the United States So Sadly Far Behind the Times?

Like Vojtech Janouskovec, the head of PROGRESSIVE’s No Biohazard program says, “The use of clean syringes prevents the spreading of infectious diseases, such as hepatitis.” It’s common knowledge. It’s not about legalizing drugs. It’s about saving lives and, honestly, it’s about saving money on the treatment for diseases like Hep C and HIV that are so commonly passed among intravenous drug users. But this is a country that flipped out about condom dispensers in high school bathrooms. Can you imagine the fall out over a needle vending machine?

At the beginning of the year, we talked about George W. lifting the ban on funding for needle exchange programs in Washington DC and later discussed how the programs would receive $650,000 in federal funding. Well, just to keep you posted, I thought I’d update you on what’s happening in our nation’s capitol in the area of harm reduction and opiate addiction treatment.

Striving and Thriving

That’s right. Things are going so well with the needle exchange programs in DC that the city intends to invest in a little expansion this summer, to the tune of $494,000 according to the Washington Post and Medical News Today. The biggest chunk of change will be given over to PreventionWorks!, which will use the money to extend its outreach work and provide onsite screenings for clients who visit their mobile vans. Other groups that will receive some of this summer’s discretionary funds include Helping Individual Prostitutes Survive, an organization reaching men and women who are professional sex workers; Bread for City, an organization that assists the homeless and poverty stricken; and Family Medical and Counseling Service, a group that provides healthcare in Ward 8.

The Need for Needle Exchange

According to the Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, injection drug use (IDU) was found to be the second most common cause of HIV transmission in Washington DC. This news made it clear that hemming and hawing about whether or not to invest in needle exchange programs was no longer an option. I have no doubt that the installation of needle exchange programs in DC or any other city will significantly reduce the number of new HIV transmissions among IDUs, and I’m looking forward to the new research that shows it.