Trenton Times, Trenton, NJ 
Copyright 1998: Trenton Times

May 19, 1998, page A10

Christine Todd Whitman 

  Recent statements by national figures as diverse as President Clinton and Miss America have heightened the media's attention to the issue of government-sponsored needle exchange programs.

Citing studies that purport to show a direct link between needle exchange programs and a reduction in AIDS deaths among intravenous drug users, the White House published a statement acknowledging the supposed effectiveness of such programs while refusing to provide federal funds for its expansion.

In issuing this essentially split decision, the White House missed an important opportunity to take an unequivocal stand against drug abuse. I have long been opposed to needle exchange programs. That opposition has nothing to do with AIDS. Rather, my opposition comes from two sources: I am a mother and I am a governor.

As a mother, I learned early in my children's lives that there are some issues on which you cannot equivocate. One of those issues is the use of drugs. I also learned that children will see right through conflicting messages. Such messages only confuse them. Government cannot, on the one hand, say that drug use is bad and illegal and, on the other, provide the tools for this destructive behavior in the name of health. Kids just will not accept that. It is like saying, "Just say maybe."

As a governor, I have rejected this program, not because I am insensitive to the plight of people with AIDS - New Jersey spends nearly $60 million annually to treat AIDS patients and to prevent the spread of the disease. My opposition to an exchange program also goes beyond the fact that the behavior it supports is illegal.

My refusal to consider such a program in New Jersey stems from the fact that drug abuse continues to threaten the life, health and safety of the people of New Jersey.

Recent reports reveal that heroin use and overdose deaths are up in New Jersey and across the nation. Every county in New Jersey is reporting an increase in heroin use. In Essex, Morris, Somerset, Sussex and Union counties alone, hospital admissions for heroin-related problems are up by 22 percent. In the past 10 years, the proportion of New Jersey students who admit to using heroin has tripled.

The potency and purity of heroin on the streets today is at its highest level ever. Street heroin today is from 70 to 90 percent pure. In the 1970s, it was just 5 to 10 percent pure.

Eighty percent of the inmates in New Jersey prisons have drug problems and the growth of drug use in America is related to half of all street crime. Drug users and their victims are not the only ones who suffer from illegal drug abuse. Nationally, 11 percent of newborns are born with drug or alcohol problems, problems that will affect them, and those around them, for life.

Sadly, this is just the tip of the iceberg. That is why needle exchange programs cannot be discussed simply in terms of preventing AIDS. Drug use and its consequences must be part of any honest review.

For these reasons, as both a mother and a governor, I cannot support a needle exchange program. I only wish that the president had used his unique platform to share his reasons for reaching the same conclusion. I know it would have raised the level of discussion and, perhaps, helped us in our fight to both stop drug use and prevent AIDS.

Christine Todd Whitman 
Trenton
The writer is the governor of New Jersey