President Obama's Budget Bans Funds for Needle Exchange

[ruggerson]

http://www.davidmixner.com/2009/05/president-obamas-budget-bans-funds-for-needle-exchange.html#more

Just when you think you don't have to fight certain battles anymore, they raise their ugly heads once again. Needle Exchange programs are just such an issue. It should be a no-brainer. Science has proven that providing clean needles to those on the streets and using illegal drugs has dramatically lowered the number of cases of HIV/AIDS. In many ways, it is this decade's battle like fighting for condom distribution was in the 1980's.

This issue is critical to the battle against HIV/AIDS. It means literally saving thousands of lives, slowing down the spread of the epidemic and saving this nation millions and millions of dollars. It is that simple.

Unfortunately, President Obama has just made our efforts against needle exchange a little harder this past week.

According to Time.com in an article written by Maia Szalavitz, in the budget sent to Congress, on Page 795, the president has left in the ban against federal funds being used for needle exchange. This simple paragraph means that people will die needlessly and the epidemic will continue to spread in communities where the most vulnerable and economically disadvantaged reside. It is an unconscionable act.

(more)

[FreeState]

1. Obama Breaks Campaign Promise on AIDS

Although Obama pledged on the campaign trail to overturn the federal ban on funding for syringe exchange, he refrained from doing so in his proposed 2010 budget. "Providing clean syringes is proven to be one of the most effective public health interventions since the polio vaccine," said Jennifer Flynn, managing director of Health Global Access Project (GAP). "It is clear that it works, but yet, we now have to wait for Congress to act to have the freedom to use every possible resource to make it widely available." (See Health GAP's full statement below.)

http://us.oneworld.net/article/362587-obama-breaks-campaign-promise-aids


More on this above. This is very disappointing to me. Obama did away with Absence Only funding in the budget which I applaud and agree with - this however is disheartening.

[paulsby]

2. but state funds can still be used, nu?

the problem is the states that require a script for needles.

my state doesn't. anybody can walk in a pharmacy and buy a syringe for like .25

i think needle exchange programs are an excellent use of state resources, though.

[dgibby]

3. As we used to say in the Navy,

No decision IS a decision.