Atlantic City Press, Atlantic City, NJ 
Copyright 1998: Atlantic City Press

Guest Column by Reverend Michael Orsi

    Each society must determine what it considers detrimental to a healthy citizenry. Over the years, the devastating effect of illegal drugs on individuals, families and our society and civil institutions has forced us to enact laws that prohibit drug use and the paraphernalia that deliver drugs.

    It has been proven time and again that the first step in curtailing the growth of drug use is to send a clear and unambiguous message that it is wrong and will not be tolerated. Why, then, is The Press seemingly advocating an illegal activity such as needle exchange? Will needle exchange solve the problems associated with HIV transmission?

    My concern as a member of the Governor's Advisory Council on AIDS leads me to other conclusions. Consider these points:

    1. The root problem of the spread of HIV through needle sharing is drugs. Remember, this is a major part of the drug culture. Not to recognize the real problem - and to increase the number of needles in circulation - will only add to the AIDS epidemic in the long term.

    2. Whenever we allow for a compromise of what is right, even in a time of crisis (for example, the unjust internment of Japanese citizens during World War II), we diminish our ethical resolve and moral authority. We effectively send "mixed messages" that confuse the most vulnerable among us, especially our children who are in the process of moral development.

    To this date no study has been done on the impact that needle exchange has on young peoples' attitudes toward drugs. However, we do know that in other instances, social-policy changes - e.g. gambling and abortion - have, over time, led to a growth in these behaviors.  Children equate legality with being acceptable or safe. Changes in current policy demand at least longitudinal studies as to the impact of the proposed legislation. 

    3. Introducing another predator into our cities not only further endangers their fragile environment but effectively makes them free zones for addicts and pushers. Some have likened this to bat day at the ballpark Accounts from Washington, D.C., and Geneva relate how after the needle vans leave, the pushers are right behind them. There are also numerous reports of discarded needles in streets, parks and housing projects.

    4. There are also numerous members of the urban underclass who once again suspect that social engineers are willing to exploit them as they had been exploited in the Tuskegee experiments. I remind you, these needle exchange programs will not take place in Princeton, Mendham, Saddle River or Cherry Hill. Needle exchange will, however, have devastating effects on Camden, Paterson, Passaic and Atlantic City.

    5. The statistical data have revealed numerous discrepancies. For example, Montreal and Vancouver show that the seroprevalence rate of HIV has indeed increased with the introduction of needle exchange in these cities. In Chicago, the seroprevalence rate of HIV lessened when aggressive measures of prevention, outreach, rehabilitation and law enforcement increased.

    6. The statistics used to promote needle exchange are questionable since they are based on behavioral assumptions as the basis for probability projections. For example, the much-touted efficacy of the New Haven, Conn., study is based on a mathematical model and did not even measure the seroconversion rates in addicts. Also, there was an over-reliance on self-reported behavior by addicts, who are notoriously unreliable. 

    7. There are serious questions as to why millions of dollars are being pumped into the state by George Soro's Lindesmith Institute, whose avowed intention is to "change people's attitudes toward illicit drugs." Why? What is their ultimate goal? Why couldn't-this money be given to prevention and rehabilitation programs that have proven records of success? Are we on the slippery slope to the legalization of drugs?

    It is highly questionable whether needle exchange will save lives. At best we may be entering into a Faustian bargain.

    If needle exchange ever becomes legal or allowed to operate illegally, this will be the ultimate scenario: More tax: dollars will be needed to fund the provision of more needles as more people use drugs and contract HIV, which, in turn, will put them in need of costly medical care.

    Taxpayers should ask themselves what they are willing to pay for - enabling drug users to continue their destructive behavior, with its consequences to our society, or holding to our standards of providing a safe and healthy environment for ourselves and our children.

    Furthermore, to allow illegal activites such as the Chai Project needle exchange to continue will further erode our system of law that supports our democratic society. Once again, what message does this send to our children?

    (The Rev. Michael Orsi of the Camden Diocesan Center is a member of Governor's Advisory Council on AIDS.)