Eight major government-funded reports

Between 1991 and 2000, the federal government funded eight major reports on the effectiveness of needle exchange programs in preventing AIDS among persons who inject drugs. The reports all concluded that needle exchange programs met the congressionally mandated criteria: 

that needle exchange programs do slow the spread of injection-related HIV and
that needle exchange programs do not increase drug use
2000 Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Science. No Time to Lose: Getting More from HIV Prevention.  Executive summary and full report. Press release.  Opening statement at press conference.
2000 David Satcher, Surgeon General, Evidence-based findings on the efficacy of syringe exchange programs: an analysis of the scientific research completed since April 1998.  Highlights.  Full report, including bibliography.  
1997 National Institutes of Health Consensus Panel. Interventions to Prevent HIV Risk Behaviors.  Abstract.  Full report.
1995 National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, Preventing HIV Transmission: the Role of Sterile Needles and Bleach.  Executive summary. Full report.
1995 Office of Technology Assessment of the U.S. Congress. The Effectiveness of AIDS Prevention Efforts.  Full report in Adobe Acrobat. 
1993 University of California, The Public Health Impact of Needle Exchange Programs in the United States and Abroad. The summary volume can be found in two parts: (A) the Executive Summary and (B) the Summary, Conclusions, and Recommendations. The full report is in two volumes and is available in print.(1)
1993 General Accounting Office. Needle Exchange Programs: Research Suggests Promise as an AIDS Prevention Strategy.   Full report.
1991 National Commission on AIDS. The Twin Epidemics of Substance Use and HIV.  Executive summary. Full report. 

The studies by the National Commission on AIDS, the University of California, the two Institute of Medicine reports, and the National Institutes of Health Consensus Panel, all recommend:

the use of federal AIDS prevention funds for needle exchange programs
the revocation of state prescription and paraphernalia laws

The remaining reports (General Accounting Office, the Office of Technology Assessment, and the Surgeon General, David Satcher) concluded that needle exchange programs are effective and do not increase drug use but the reports made no explicit policy recommendations either for or against the use of federal funds for needle exchange programs.

Footnote

(1) Volumes 1 and 2 are available from the National AIDS Clearinghouse, at 1-800-458-5231.  

For a list of other materials used on this website, see References.