Drug Abuse Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Drug Abuse, including details on psychology, rehabilitation, consequences, treatment.

The impact of syringe deregulation on sources of syringes for injection drug users: preliminary findings.

Deren S, Cleland CM, Fuller C, Kang SY, Des Jarlais DC, Vlahov D

Center for Drug Use and HIV Research, Institute for AIDS Research, NDRI, New York 10010, USA. deren@ndri.org

In 2001, New York State enacted legislation to allow the provision of syringes by pharmacies and healthcare providers without prescription (ESAP, the Expanded Syringe Access Demonstration Program). A longitudinal study of IDUs (n=130) found that pre-ESAP, about half used only the safest source (needle exchange programs [NEPs]). Post-ESAP implementation, ESAP sources were initiated by 14%. Frequency of injection was related to ESAP use and those who used unsafe (or possibly unsafe) sources were as likely to use ESAP as those who had previously used only NEPs. The findings indicate that providing multiple sources of safe syringes for IDUs is necessary.

Published 23 October 2006 in AIDS Behav, 10(6): 717-21.
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