Supporters say doing so saves money and lives by reducing the risk of AIDS transmission. But critics believe it may encourage drug use. On two occasions, California Gov. Pete Wilson has vetoed needle exchange measures. But some 75 cities in the United States have needle exchange programs of some kind.
Half are legal.
In the other cases, local government turns a blind eye. Experts believe 40,000 people in the United States are infected every year with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and they think 75 percent of those new cases are drug related. Drug users sharing syringes pass HIV, which is then passed on to sex partners and unborn children. Drug-user Hal Thomas said addicts are more likely to share potentially contaminated needles when free, clean needles are not available. Where needle exchanges are commonplace, the level of HIV infection among drug users remains steady at about 15 percent, according to Fernando Aguayo-Garcia of Prevention Point in San Francisco.