A 73-year-old San Antonian named Bill Day is answering "a calling from God" by giving out clean syringes to local users, an act which could buy him jail time. Day stands on one side of a debate going on in San Antonio about syringe exchanges.
The Associated Press article about the debate quotes David Murray, the chief scientist of our favorite organization (the ONDCP), as saying, that syringe exchange "'carries an enablement of continued drug use, and...the evidence is strong that it does not succeed in its effort to control the contagion' of disease." He also said that "needle-exchange programs don't address the core of the HIV/AIDS problem, which is the high-risk behavior associated with drug use, such as venereal disease and multiple sexual partners."
I'm sorry, but aren't chief scientists supposed to know how to conduct research? Because if Murray had simply googled "syringe exchange study" he'd know that "between 1991 and 1997, the U.S. Government funded seven reports on clean needle programs for persons who inject drugs. The reports are unanimous in their conclusions that clean needle programs reduce HIV transmission, and none find that clean needle programs cause rates of drug use to increase."* Additionally, David Murray would learn that syringe exchanges provide far more services than simply handing out clean needles (proper condom use, HIV/Hepatitis testing, on-site medical care, vein care education, etc), and that "individuals in areas with needle exchange programs have an increased likelihood of entering drug treatment programs."*
Actually, to be honest, I think David Murray does know all of this. I think he is completely aware of the studies that are out there. He also knows that the average person won't take the time to google "syringe exchange study" like I did. As I read that article, I thought "David Murray is an idiot." But the truth is, he isn't an idiot; he's corrupt. He propagates lies, knowing full well that his position of power lends him the trust that he doesn't actually deserve. America has less tolerance for corruption (Richard Nixon) than it does for idiocy (George W. Bush), though. So who wants to be the Woodward and Bernstein of drug policy?
*
http://www.drugwarfacts.org/syringee.htm
Posted by Ellen Parkhurst