Needle Exchange

When it comes to slowing the spread of HIV/AIDS, the imperatives of the drug war are a hindrance, not a help, a new report from the Global Commission on Drugs finds. There is a better way, the group says.

The Senate has included federal funding for needle exchanges in its Health & Human Services FY 2013 appropriations bill. The House is expected to approve a bill without it, setting up a fight in conference committee down the road.

In an effort to reduce the spread of HIV, Hepatitis C, and other blood-borne disease, authorities in Kenya will start distributing needles to injection drug users next month.

With the Greek health system shaken by the economic crisis, new HIV cases are spiking, and the government is preparing harm reduction measures, including handing out needles and condoms, to halt the rise.

The fight-back to restore federal needle exchange funding stripped out of last year's budget has begun in earnest, with a congressional call-in, actions in a dozen cities, and civil disobedience and dozens of arrests on Capitol Hill.

The New Mexico legislature has commissioned a study of emerging and evidence-based harm reduction practices, including supervised injection sites. That could lead the way to a pilot program there. There is also agitation for SIJs in San Francisco and New York City.

2011 was a busy year in drug policy. Here is our selection of the biggest stories of the year here at home.

Ignoring strong evidence that needle exchange programs prevent the spread of AIDS and other blood-borne diseases, the US Congress has decided to ban the use of federal funds for them.