Nevada city to use vending machines to provide clean needles for drug users

http://nbc4i.com/2017/04/13/nevada-city-to-use-vending-machines-to-provide-clean-needles-for-drug-users/

LAS VEGAS, NV (KSNV) The Southern Nevada Health District is making sure people have access to clean needles to reduce the risk of spreading diseases.

Three new needle exchange vending machines are being installed to give drug users access to clean needles.

Once users register with the program, they’ll be given a card and a unique identifier code to access the vending machines.

In addition to clean needles, the vending machines also have kits for syringe disposal, wound care and safe sex.

The health district estimates that about 9 percent of new HIV diagnoses in Clark County are people who inject drugs.

The CDC says 1 in 10 people with HIV inject drugs. In 2015 only 1 in 4 people who inject drugs got all of their syringes from a clean source.

There is going to be a lot of people, including health care professional that will be opposed to any “needle exchange prgm”.  We all know that addicts will do whatever is necessary to get their next fix and avoid withdrawal that they call “dope sick”.  Sharing needles and taking the risk of whatever disease they will get by using a syringe/needle untold others have used.

When you consider that HIV, Hep B&C are very common and each person that catches these disease by sharing needles… it will cost upwards of $750,000 to treat each of those, and since addicts have no financial resources.. guess who gets to pick up the cost of that treatment… Taxpayers/Medicaid.

Filed under: General Problems