Safe Syringe Programs: An Exploration of Federal, State, and Local Level Responsibilities

People who use intravenous drugs (PWIDs) face many challenges and risks at the individual level, such as transmission of infection with needle sharing, treatment and criminal justice costs, and stigmatization. In addition to these consequences are the negative impacts to public safety and welfare. Focusing on needles alone, there are multiple public health issues from their use, misuse, and disposal that have escalated to the extent that intervention by the government is needed at all levels: federal, state, and local. The growth of the opioid epidemic and its damaging effects to all persons whose lives are involved suggests that our historical individual treatment approach has not been effective. Addiction is a disorder not of the individual but of the community.

Harm reduction is a non-judgmental public health philosophy with a series of interventions that treats every person with dignity, compassion, and respect, regardless of circumstance or condition [1, 2]. Programs of this nature attempt to reduce the harms associated with both drug use and ineffective drug policies. A basic tenet of harm reduction is that there has never been, and will never be, a drug-free society. Interventions and practices of harm reduction programs are numerous and include safe syringe programs (SSPs).