Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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Wausau Daily Herald (12.11.04) - Monday, December 20, 2004
Jessica Bock
"It's the most powerful tool in the fight against AIDS," said Mike Gifford, ARC's vice president and CEO. "It's not just the exchange of needles. It's the moment and time and opportunity to help people address their drug addiction."
About 15 percent of state AIDS cases have been among IV drug users, according to the September 2004 HIV/AIDS quarterly surveillance summary from the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services. Since needle-exchange programs became available in Wisconsin in 1994, new HIV infections among injection-drug users have fallen by about 66 percent, said Gifford.
Critics of needle-exchange programs question whether they increase drug use and attract new IV drug users. Everest Metro Police Capt. Scott Sleeter, who talked with an ARC official about the Schofield program, doubted it would facilitate drug use. "If a person's going to use, they're going to use," Sleeter said. In one University of California-Berkeley study, researchers found no evidence needle-exchange programs increase clients' use of drugs.
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