Needle Exchange: Good or Evil?

Drug addicts in Washington DC will be allowed to exchange dirty needles for clean ones after a 9 year ban has been lifted. DC has the highest rate of AIDS of any major city in the nation -- significantly higher than the national average. So will needle exchange solve this problem? Statistics show that needle exchanges do have a positive impact in reducing the rate of AIDS in hypodermic drug users. But the question becomes, does that positive impact outweigh the possibility that these programs send the message that drug use is OK. Once again, a practical issue becomes mired in morality. Don't get me wrong -- I believe strongly that morality has its place, and that government does indeed bear some responsibility in this area. But "The War on Drugs" has demonized drug use to the point where practical solutions -- again looking at the greater good -- are criticized based on an overinflated sense of morality imposed on a legal/medical issue. Yes, drug use is illegal, and breaking the law is morally wrong, I get it. But drug addiction is a disease, and this too must be considered. Obviously the ideal would be to eliminate drugs, take away the addiction, and clean things up that way. But the war on drugs isn't going all that well -- DC being a perfect example of our country's failure in this area. Practically speaking, I believe that needle exchange programs serve the greater good. Further, I do not believe that the promise of free, clean needles will lure unsuspecting children into first time drug use. It is a less than perfect solution, but it is a step toward a solution nonetheless. Perhaps we can be more successful in the war on AIDS than we have been in the war on drugs.

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