Denver to offer syringe exchange program

Colorado will soon join 35 other states and 60 countries in allowing legal clean syringe exchange programs for intravenous drug users.  Furthermore, Denver may lead the way as a model for other counties which have not yet set parameters for such programs.  Though a similar state bill to legalize needle exchanges failed in 1997, Senate Bill 189 passed with overwhelming support in 2010, with 32 co-sponsors and 81 legislative votes.  However, county public health departments must first opt for such programs.

Lisa Raville, director of Harm Reduction, a drug treatment program in Denver, was advocate for the bill.  She said there is still some reticence among most Colorado counties to enact clean needle programs, but Denver may be a catalyst for change.

"What we're finding is that the rest of the state is kind of seeing how it goes with Denver," Raville said.

Mark Thrun, director of the HIV Prevention and STD Control for Denver Public Health, said it took some time to refine the language of Denver's new city ordinance permitting the programs.

"We amended the city ordinance to make syringe exchanges more efficacious," he said.

Under the new ordinance, Denver Public Health would subcontract non-profits to conduct the safe needle exchanges.  Non-profit agencies serving substance abusers will safely dispose of contaminated needles and then provide addicts with clean ones, as well as supplies such as gauze and other sanitary items.

According to Thrun, this not only reduces the rise for the spread of disease, it puts users in contact with outreach workers and other resources.

"We've seen that syringe exchanges increases the number of individuals seeking help, and it can help link them to services," he said.

Needle exchanges sometimes incite controversy from anti-drug proponents who say such programs implicitly condone or encourage intravenous users to continue their habit.  Prevention Coordinator Vanessa Fenley of the Denver Office of Drug Strategy, which helped review the new city ordinance, said she is aware of the criticism but that there is no proof to support it.

"When you look at the rigorous research that's been done in other cities, states, and countries around needle exchange, it's actually the opposite," she said.  "It not only lowers disease transmission, but also rates of harmful injections and actual drug use because it is that avenue for individuals to access treatment."

Raville said the exchange programs are important because it tackles a public health issue which is not confined to just users.

"This is a concern for all of us, from anyone getting pricked by a syringe in the trash can to having sex with someone they don't know is a user.  That's how HIV and hepatitis C are spread," Raville said.

According to the Denver Office of Drug Strategy, there are approximately 5,000 intravenous drug users.  However, this number reflects only data from users who have come into contact with services, thus Harm Reduction believes actual numbers exceed this.  When the program goes into exchange this summer, Denver will offer three locations where addicts may exchange their used needles and perhaps begin to lower rates of disease in the population at large.