Syringe

Joe Donovan knows a thing or two about hard living. A few years ago the Raleigh-based veteran was diagnosed with a rare adrenal disorder, Addison’s Disease, which can cause fainting spells that require an emergency injection. Since his diagnosis in 2004, Donovan has been required to carry emergency medication and a syringe on him at all times, as well as to wear a bracelet explaining the disorder and how to administer the injections.

Not long after his diagnosis and the discovery of a tumor on his pituitary gland, Donovan lost his job. Soon after, with pending surgery and medical bills piling up, he became homeless. Over the next five years he was homeless twice, for as long as two years at a time. Living in homeless shelters with nothing but a backpack and some clothes, Donovan had many things to worry about, but among his concerns were the syringes he kept in his backpack along with the emergency medication. As a veteran, he obtained the syringes from the VA for his disorder and had every right to carry them, but because he was and subject to the same stereotypes about drug use that plague many homeless people, he often worried about run-ins with the police. Would they believe his story that the syringes were for a medical condition?

World Hepatitis Day
by Leilani Attilio

Interview on Syringe Exchange with Rick Basile,Retired Chief of Police, Ithaca, NY

Rick Basile served on an advisory committee for Ithaca, New York’s first syringe exchange program – while he was Chief of Police.

“I learned about harm reduction and syringe exchange programs during an interview,” explains Basile, a 30 year law enforcement veteran. “In Ithaca the interview process to become Chief of Police was unusual. Different people from the community came in and had about 45 minutes to ask me questions. One person, George Ferrari of AIDS Work, asked me how I felt about harm reduction and I didn’t know what it was. George explained to me about syringe exchange programs. Once I learned that they reduce needle-sticks to officers [by 66%], I was sold.”

Officers who receive accidental needle-sticks are at risk for transition of blood borne diseases, such as HIV and especially hepatitis C, a virus that attacks the liver and can lead to liver failure.

A Review of the Global Commission on Drug Policy's Second Report
By Leilani Attilio, R.N./B.S.N.

Aggressive drug law enforcement practices have been counterproductive and created a smoke in mirrors effect on apparent “successes” such as increased drug seizures, arrests, and criminal convictions. However, the “war on drugs” has not only diverted funding from public health programs, but also facilitated the spread of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) epidemic among people who use drugs and the community. A new report published by the Global Commission on Drug Policy outlines several pitfalls on international and U.S. domestic policies on drug use that has ultimately led to millions of new HIV infections and AIDS deaths. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 25% of new HIV/AIDS cases are due to sharing of needles and syringes and is the second leading cause of HIV/AIDS.

Event: Law Enforcement Safety & Drug Policy Summit

WHEN: June 12th, 2012

WHAT TIME IS THE EVENT: Registration starts at 8 am, and the event begins at 9 am and will go through Noon. A lunch will be served to registered guests after the summit.

WHERE: North Carolina Legislative Auditorium, 16 Jones Street, Raleigh, NC

WHO SHOULD ATTEND: Law Enforcement, Legislators, Legislative, Support Staff, Public Health Officials, Lobbyists, Harm Reductionists, Drug Policy Reformers, Policy Reformers, People Who Work With Incarcerated Populations and the Substance Abuse Community

WHAT WILL BE COVERED: Law Enforcement Needlestick Reduction, Law Enforcement Safety around Drug Overdoses, Reducing Recidivism While Maintaining Public Order and Drug Policy Reform

WHO WILL BE PRESENTING: Law Enforcement Safety Experts, Law Enforcement, Drug Policy Experts and Republican & Democratic Legislators, and Conservative, Liberal & Moderate Policy Institutes

Syringe Decriminalization: Diabetics Need Syringes Too

Syringe Decriminalization: Diabetics Need Syringes Too
As a diabetic, not having a clean syringe available for insulin injections is scary. I remember one time when I was visiting my parents and had forgotten to bring a clean syringe. My blood sugar was rising rapidly and I feared I would not be able to get insulin in my body fast enough to stop it from reaching a potentially deadly level. My partner and I frantically searched my car in hopes that somewhere I had stored a used syringe to be properly disposed of later. I was so frustrated that I had the insulin in my hand but without a means to inject the life-saving medication. When we eventually found one, the idea of a used syringe reentering my body felt strange, even if I knew I was the only person who had ever used it. I wondered how difficult it would be to force myself to use a syringe with an unknown history.

PROGRAM SPOTLIGHT

North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition Law Enforcement Safety Training Program

The relationship between law enforcement and drug users is not always positive, but fortunately, that doesn’t have to be the case. The North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition (NCHRC) is working to bring drug users and law enforcement together by educating both groups on public health initiatives to protect each other from blood borne disease such as hepatitis C and HIV.

Needlesticks On The Beat
An Essay by Former Policewomen Jen “Crash” Earls

As a patrol officer with the Chicago Police Department the unknown was the most dangerous enemy I ever faced. I dealt with it many times in my 8 years on the streets.
But often it wasn’t the unkempt woman slumped over the steering wheel of her car at the red light. It was a well-dressed young woman with seven used needles in her expensive purse, driving a posh Lexus.