Govt may supply syringes to addicts

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Govt may supply syringes to addicts

Kounteya Sinha [14 Aug, 2006 0207hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]

ZURICH: Drug addicts in India may soon get their supply of drugs and

syringes from the government itself.

In a highly controversial decision, the National Aids Control

Organisation (Naco) is formulating a Bill that will seek to legalise

a national drug substitution and needle exchange programme under

which known addicts will be supplied clean syringes and drugs like

Methadone and Bupernorphin for intravenous use.

According to Naco, while the clean syringes will help reduce the

risk of addicts getting infected with HIV through sharing needles,

the two less addictive drugs will help them get over hard substances

like heroin and cocaine.

Aware that changing the law, which categorically calls for the

arrest of people found injecting drugs, won't be easy, Naco is

earmarking Rs 50 crore just for " working towards changing the

present law " .

Naco is also setting up a task force that will review the law and

advocate necessary changes after having consulted law enforcement

agencies, police and legislators.

According to experts who have designed India's $2.5-billion National

Aids Control Programme-III, that will take off for the next five

years from November, India is home to nearly two lakh intravenous

drug users.

Of these, over 50,800 people are from Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and

Meghalaya. Over 10% of them are HIV positive solely due to sharing

of contaminated needles.

Kurien from the Christian Medical College, Vellore, who was

one of the five designers of NACP-III, told TOI here that by

legalising a drug substitution and needle exchange programme, India

was actually trying to emulate countries like China, Holland,

Holland, US and Germany where such a programme has proved a success.

" India has a large population indulging in intravenous drug

injections. Denying this fact any longer would be disastrous for the

country's AIDS control programme, especially because drug addicts

are at a higher risk of contracting HIV through exchanging needles.

On the other hand, asking these addicts to suddenly quit would be

futile. So a two-pronged approach might do the trick for us, " he

said.

" First we will give the addicts safe syringes so that they don't

exchange their needles with partners. Then we will provide them with

a low concentrate of injectable substitution drugs like Methadone

and Bupernorphin which will help them shift from cocaine and heroin

and ultimately from all forms of drugs.

This exercise has worked for China, US and Australia. It should work

for us too. The Bill will be ready by mid-2007, " said.

According to another Naco official, 93 small interventions similar

to the drug substitution and needle exchange programme were being

undertaken till December 2005 in eight states by various NGOs. But

because drug substitution isn't legalised in India, it could not be

carried out on a large scale.

According to health ministry officials, there has been growing

evidence that needle and syringe exchange programmes are effective.

A comparison of HIV/AIDS prevalence among injecting drug users in

different cities around the world has been undertaken to measure the

effectiveness of such programmes.

In cities where needle and syringe exchange practices have been

introduced, the rate of HIV infection among injecting drug users was

an average of 6% compared with an average 21% in cities where the

programmes had not come in.

India has long been a transit route for drug traffickers moving

heroin from the 'Golden Triangle' of Laos, Myanmar and Thailand.

Inevitably, that has led to a rise in heroin addiction within the

north-eastern states.

More than promiscuity, it's the sharing of needles among intravenous

drug users that's responsible for spreading of HIV/AIDS at an

alarming rate in the North-East.

A recent UN report said most of the substance users in North-East

are male. Women constitute only 5-10% but generally they are

burdened with drug use by other family members. A significant number

of drug users are below the age of 20 and one-third of them are

unmarried.

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