Q: Is it legal to give out syringes?
A: Yes, however we do not give out syringes. We exchange them. Clean syringes are not considered paraphernalia in Oregon.

Q: Is there any reason to think that syringe exchange increases drug use?
A: No. An independent panel convened by the National Institute of Health in 1997 concluded that syringe exchange does not increase syringe-injecting behavior among current drug users and does not encourage people to begin using drugs. More recent studies confirm these findings and further suggest that syringe exchange programs are successful in attracting injectors who are at highest risk.

Q: What does the Sana Needle Exchange do?
A: We serve over 370 clients per month, exchange an average of 50,000 needles per month.

We offer clean needles, water, bleach, and first aid supplies, such as bandages, gauze, tape, antibiotic cream, and alcohol wipes.

We offer referrals to agency programs such as drug and alcohol detox & treatment, food programs, shelters, and case management.

We provide much needed information on HIV, Hepatitis, safer injection, overdose, treatment, and abscesses.

Q: What is a comprehensive syringe exchange program?
A:: A program that HIV Alliance offers for drug users. It is an important component of a comprehensive set of programs designed to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS and other blood-borne infections among injection drug users, their families and communities. Nationally, over ½ of all new HIV infections stem from injection drug users by sharing syringes, and the rest either from unprotected sex with an injection drug user, men who have sex with other men or transmission from an infected mother to her fetus or newborn child. Syringe exchange programs provide new, sterile syringes in a one-for-one exchange for used, contaminated syringes. But syringe exchange programs are not just about syringes, they also help drug users get into drug treatment, access to health care and provide important risk reduction information. Other services include counseling and testing for HIV infection, hepatitis information, safer sex education and safe disposal of contaminated injection equipment.

Q: Why are syringe exchange programs offered?
A: Syringe exchange is one of the most effective HIV prevention programs currently available for injection drug users who are not in treatment. Without a vaccine or a cure, prevention is the only tool we have to control the spread of HIV. HIV Alliance runs a syringe exchange program for four basic reasons:

Syringe exchange reduces blood-borne diseases in our communities without increasing drug use. Studies have shown decreases in both the number of persons who become infected with HIV and the number of people who get hepatitis in communities that have syringe exchange programs.

Preventing HIV infection in injection drug users also prevents HIV in women and newborn children. Many women are at risk for HIV because of their own injection drug use ore because they are sexual partners of injection drug users.

By working with injection drug users, we can help them get into drug treatment.
Finally, HIV Alliance safely disposes of all contaminated syringes turned in to the exchange. This reduces the number of discarded syringes on our sidewalks and in our bus stops, yards, parks, and playgrounds. Our goal is to get used syringes out of circulation as quickly as possible. The longer a syringe remains in circulation, the more opportunities there are for that syringe to pass on a blood-borne disease.

Q: Why do drug users share needles?
A: Many injection drug users are aware of the risk of HIV transmission when they share needles, though there are a few problems that still make it hard for people to not share:

Many pharmacies, which are the only source of clean needles, will not sell needles to anyone who does not have a prescription. Other pharmacies may sell them, but often treat the user badly because of their habit.

When a person is addicted to a drug, the craving to use is so powerful that to not do so makes the person sick. With a need this strong, it can be really hard to think about going to a pharmacy before injecting.

The reason that people share needles is the same reason that people have unprotected sex with someone even though they don't know the partner’s HIV status. When people are feeling intensely, either that they want to be sexual or to use, and when people are familiar with each other, it is hard to admit that the person you are about to use with or have sex with might have a deadly virus.

Q: Are syringe exchange programs successful?
A: Yes. A recent study compared cities that had low rates of HIV infection among drug injectors with cities in which drug injectors had high rates of HIV infection. Most cities that responded early in the epidemic by implementing comprehensive syringe exchange programs have kept infection rates among drug injectors below 5%, while rates of infection in cities like New York and Miami (where syringe exchange began late or not at all) are around 40% to 60%.

Q: How can injection risks be reduced?
A: The main way a person can reduce the risk of injecting drugs, aside from abstaining, is to use a clean needle every time they inject. This removes the possibility of getting a disease by sharing a needle with another person. It also reduces the risk of getting infections associated with injecting drugs. It is also possible to reduce risk by using alcohol preps to clean the skin before injection, using clean cotton to filter impurities out of the drug, and not sharing cookers.