Society has decided that the fate of a drug addict lies in the ability to choose correctly between the choices of quitting their addiction or remaining a slave to it. Their worth in society is only gained when they decide to live sober but people seem to forget the struggle they go through to get to that point. In 2011 it was estimated, by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, that 4.2 million Americans from the age of 12 have used heroin once in their lifetimes (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2014). With syringes being scarce, many resort to sharing needles in order to get high causing a spread in viral diseases and causing the government to spend countless amounts of money for their treatment. To circumvent the issue, the United States
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It has a prominent presence in all countries with access to drugs. Despite the differences of territory, there are parallels that can be drawn which transcend cultural differences and borders. The spread of HIV ravages every country and needle sharing is regarded as one of the leading causes for its spread. For example, in Iran 77% of new cases reported to the Ministry of Health are from IDUs. In order to combat the issue, the Iranian government started providing needles for IDUs through pharmacies or needles and syringe programs. The results showed that IDUs in an area where these programs were available stopped sharing needles by a large margin. 49% of IDUs got their needles from pharmacies while 47% got their needles from the needles and syringes programs. Only 3% got their needles through means such as friends or drug dealers (Zamani, Vazirian, Nassirimanesh, Razzaghi, Ono-Kihara, Ravari, & Kihara, 2010). In the United States, a needle exchange program was established in Seattle, Washington which resulted in the amount needle sharing between IDUs to lower drastically. Only 23% of IDUs reported sharing needles after a four year period from 2009 to 2013 (Burt, R. & Thiede, 2016). Over time, if the prominence of needle sharing dwindles down, the spread of HIV will too. It is evident that the integration of a source for clean needles is effective in preventing the spread of HIV and its effects are not limited to one place, so why shouldn’t the United States government take the opportunity to lessen the burden on drug addicts nationwide and prevent the spread of a terrible
It has a prominent presence in all countries with access to drugs. Despite the differences of territory, there are parallels that can be drawn which transcend cultural differences and borders. The spread of HIV ravages every country and needle sharing is regarded as one of the leading causes for its spread. For example, in Iran 77% of new cases reported to the Ministry of Health are from IDUs. In order to combat the issue, the Iranian government started providing needles for IDUs through pharmacies or needles and syringe programs. The results showed that IDUs in an area where these programs were available stopped sharing needles by a large margin. 49% of IDUs got their needles from pharmacies while 47% got their needles from the needles and syringes programs. Only 3% got their needles through means such as friends or drug dealers (Zamani, Vazirian, Nassirimanesh, Razzaghi, Ono-Kihara, Ravari, & Kihara, 2010). In the United States, a needle exchange program was established in Seattle, Washington which resulted in the amount needle sharing between IDUs to lower drastically. Only 23% of IDUs reported sharing needles after a four year period from 2009 to 2013 (Burt, R. & Thiede, 2016). Over time, if the prominence of needle sharing dwindles down, the spread of HIV will too. It is evident that the integration of a source for clean needles is effective in preventing the spread of HIV and its effects are not limited to one place, so why shouldn’t the United States government take the opportunity to lessen the burden on drug addicts nationwide and prevent the spread of a terrible