Tune in tomorrow (Sat) morning as Daviess County Prosecutor Dan Murrie appears on Focus on the Community to discuss needle exchange programs. Focus on the Community airs live at 8:30-am…
Indiana Health Commissioner Jerome Adams says needle exchange programs have saved lives and money as public health officials try to combat the state’s opioid crisis.
Eight Indiana counties currently have exchanges in place that allow drug users to swap dirty needles for clean ones.
Adams said Thursday that the exchanges “aren’t pretty.” But he adds that they prevent the spread of HIV and other serious diseases that drug abusers can spread by sharing needles.
An exchange in Scott County helped stop the spread of HIV after 219 people contracted the virus. That can save money in health care costs.
Adams says 2,800 people have used the syringe programs to date. Participants can be tested for disease and get referrals for health insurance, social services, and treatment.
The Daviess County Council meanwhile recently adopted a resolution saying they would not fund a needle exchange in the program currently. That was at the recommendation of Daviess County Prosecutor Dan Murrie who has been making his rounds to local government bodies explaining why he is not in favor of needle exchanges. We’ll have more on that tomorrow morning on Focus on the Community when Mr. Murrie joins us to talk about needle exchanges. That will be at 8:30-am tomorrow (Sat) on WAMW.
