Hoosier Survey finds public support for needle exchanges
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – There is widespread support for the expansion of needle exchange programs in Indiana.
That’s one of the findings in the WISH-TV/Ball State Hoosier Survey.
As many as 20 Indiana county health departments may soon be in the business of operating a needle exchange, giving addicts clean needles in exchange for used ones.
Kevin Polly told 24-Hour News 8 how he became HIV positive: “I got it through intravenous drug use.” There are dozens of people like him in Scott County.
“This particular epidemic of HIV is the first of its kind,” Dr. Jennifer Walthall of the State Board of Health told lawmakers last spring, “and should be alarming to everyone in this room.”
While those lawmakers struggle with ways to address the problem, the governor first authorized a 30-day exchange in Scott County, then agreed to extend it and expand it.
The Hoosier Survey, meanwhile, found public support for taking the program statewide. 69 percent favored that approach, while just 25 percent are opposed.
“We find that there’s great support for a needle exchange program,” said Ball State political science professor Joe Losco. “Of course we’ve had some problems in southern Indiana with that and that certainly increases awareness.”
In Madison County, addicts who turn in needles are also offered counseling.
“We feel like the program wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t have those additional resources,” said Stephanie Grimes of the Madison County Health Department.
And our poll also found that Hoosiers would prefer expanding alternatives to incarceration for drug addicts.
“That … we don’t need to just throw a person in jail and throw away the key,” said Ball State political science professor Ray Scheele. “Rather, what we have to do is more treatment.”
Just 26 percent of those polled favor the idea of prosecuting drug users. 63 percent favor treatment. And 7 percent believe both options should be pursued equally.
And the Hoosier Survey found that support for treatment and needle exchange cuts across party lines.Editor’s note: Weigh in! Vote in the unscientific poll within this story.