Testimonials

“The help I got from the harm reduction program was more than just clean equipment, it was about being with people who didn’t judge me for my addiction, and who really wanted to help.” Sam, a 50-year-old former drug user and sex worker in Carrboro, NC

“Too often, drug users suffer discrimination, are forced to accept treatment, marginalized, and often harmed by approaches which over-emphasize criminalization and punishment while under-emphasizing harm reduction and respect for human rights. This is despite the longstanding evidence that a harm reduction approach is the most effective way of protecting rights, limiting personal suffering, and reducing the incidence of HIV.” —Navanethem Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, March 10, 2009

In the National HIV/AIDS Strategy for the US, access to sterile syringes is endorsed as one of several “scientifically proven...approaches that reduce the probability of HIV transmission.” The federal ban on funding for syringe exchange programs was lifted in 2009 in the US, yet local laws prevent many states from expanding syringe access. State and local laws that restrict access to harm reduction services undermine both public health and human rights.