Does needle exchange hinder other drug treatment efforts?
People visit NEPs not only to exchange needles, but also for conversation, a sense of place, to get referrals to detox and to receive information about other social services. Lex (his name has been changed to protect his identity), a Massachusetts program participant, described his experience: Coming to the needle exchange has opened a door for me to use safely, for myself, and to be more responsible with my using. It’s actually opened a door also for recovery and I am grateful for the needle exchange because itÃ’ not there for just changing the needles. You can come here and talk about stuff that is going on with you. In 1992-93 nearly 20% of participants in a New Haven NEP initiated drug treatment and hundreds approached the program exclusively for treatment referral. Another study conducted at the University of California-Berkeley even revealed a shortage of space in treatment centers to support the number of users using the needle exchange as an initial step towards making progress
