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Kanada. “Regressive Thinking” Ends Syringe, Pipe Distribution at Edmonton Transit Stations

Until recently, Boyle Street Community Services staff had been handing out various harm reduction tools to people who wanted and needed them at Edmonton Transit Services (ETS) stations. Now, the city of almost a million inhabitants in Alberta, Canada, has barred the charity from distributing sterile syringes and pipes through the program. (Filter, USA, 21.02.2023)

https://filtermag.org/syringe-pipe-edmonton-transit/

Comprehensive needle and syringe program and opioid agonist therapy reduce HIV and hepatitis c virus acquisition among people who inject drugs in different settings: a pooled analysis of emulated trials, 

van Santen, D. K., Lodi, S., Dietze, P., van den Boom, W., Hayashi, K., Dong, H., Cui, Z., Maher, L., Hickman, M., Boyd, A., and Prins, M. (2023)

Addiction. doi.org/10.1111/add.16147.

Abstract 

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/add.16147

Kanada. Beyond “Zero Tolerance”? Syringe Access in Canadian Prisons

In the outside world, if you’re lucky enough to live somewhere that has harm reduction services, you might have access to a syringe service program. There, you can get supplies and information, or meet with staff and others who use drugs who can teach you how to pack a really good pipe, or tricks to avoid missing a shot. 

Inside prisons, however, it’s a different story. A lot of people use drugs in prisons across North America, but most don’t have access to harm reduction supplies, drug-positive supports or safer drug use information. Drugs are more expensive, and the penalties for getting caught holding or using are harsh. There are also high rates of hepatitis C, HIV and other infections from sharing injection equipment. (Filter, USA, 30.01.2023)

https://filtermag.org/syringe-access-prison-canada/

"We want everything in a one-stop shop": acceptability and feasibility of PrEP and buprenorphine implementation with mobile syringe services for Black people who inject drugs. 

Bartholomew TS, Andraka-Cristou B, Totaram RK, Harris S, Doblecki-Lewis S, Ostrer L, Serota DP, Forrest DW, Chueng TA, Suarez E, Tookes HE. 

Harm Reduct J. 2022 Dec 3;19(1):133. doi: 10.1186/s12954-022-00721-6. PMID: 36463183; PMCID: PMC9719627.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9719627/

Analysis of four syringe dispensing machine point-of-access data 2017-2020 in Melbourne, Australia: machine utilisation and client demographics. 

Kerr P, Cossar RD, Livingston M, Jacka D, Dietze P, O'Keefe D. 

Harm Reduct J. 2022 Dec 21;19(1):144. doi: 10.1186/s12954-022-00726-1. PMID: 36544124; PMCID: PMC9768389.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9768389/

Nigeria. ‘HIV can kill faster than the drug abuse’: Nigeria opens first needle exchange to tackle infection

The programme, seen as a shift in attitudes in a zero-tolerance country, is aimed at curbing the spread of blood-borne disease. (The Guardian, UK, 14.11.2022)

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/nov/14/nigeria-hiv-first-needle-exchange

Schottland. Injecting equipment provision in Scotland 2021 to 2022

This release by Public Health Scotland (PHS) presents information on injecting equipment provision (IEP). This includes the number of outlets, attendances and the types of injecting equipment distributed to people who use illicit drugs (including Novel Psychoactive Substances and Image and Performance Enhancing Drugs) in Scotland in 2021/22. (PHS – Public Health Scotland, 18.10.2022)

https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/injecting-equipment-provision-in-scotland/injecting-equipment-provision-in-scotland-2021-to-2022/

USA. A Needle Exchange Project Modeled on Urban Efforts Aims to Save Lives in Rural Nevada

ELKO, Nev. — Richard Cusolito believes he's saving lives by distributing clean syringes and needles to people who use drugs in this rural area of northeastern Nevada — but he knows some residents disagree. (Medscape, USA, 24.08.2022)

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/979696

Implementation of buprenorphine services in NYC syringe services programs: a qualitative process evaluation. 

Jakubowski A, Rath C, Harocopos A, Wright M, Welch A, Kattan J, Navos Behrends C, Lopez-Castro T, Fox AD. 

Harm Reduct J. 2022 Jul 10;19(1):75. doi: 10.1186/s12954-022-00654-0. PMID: 35818071; PMCID: PMC9275037.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9275037/

Responding to a surge in overdose deaths: perspectives from US syringe services programs. 

Frost MC, Austin EJ, Corcorran MA, Briggs ES, Behrends CN, Juarez AM, Frank ND, Healy E, Prohaska SM, LaKosky PA, Kapadia SN, Perlman DC, Schackman BR, Des Jarlais DC, Williams EC, Glick SN. 

Harm Reduct J. 2022 Jul 19;19(1):79. doi: 10.1186/s12954-022-00664-y. PMID: 35854351; PMCID: PMC9295104.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9295104/

Urgent need to expand syringe services programs in South Carolina and beyond. 

Pham Q, Burrows M, Litwin A. 

Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy. 2022 Jun 21;17(1):47. doi: 10.1186/s13011-022-00476-0. PMID: 35729624; PMCID: PMC9210717.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9210717/

Dead Space in Syringes Explained

A short film explaining the importance of dead space as a factor in the transmission of blood borne viruses amongst people who inject drugs. (exchangesupplies.org, UK, 08.06.2022, Video, 03:49) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnmGIcAWoZ8

Setting foot in private spaces: extending the hepatitis C cascade of care to automatic needle/syringe dispensing machines, a mixed methods study. 

Coupland, H., Henderson, C., Pritchard-Jones, J. et al.

Harm Reduct J 19, 56 (2022). doi.org/10.1186/s12954-022-00640-6

https://harmreductionjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12954-022-00640-6

Irland. Aggression caused by crack cocaine forces Limerick pharmacists to quit needle exchange programme 

Drugs and Alcohol Forum responds after councillor highlights fall in the number of pharmacies offering needle exchange. Irish Examiner, Irland, 21.04.2022)

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/munster/arid-40856417.html

Neuseeland. Needle Exchange Programme Doubles Its Economic Return 

New research shows that the New Zealand Needle Exchange Programme (NZNEP) has doubled its economic return to our public health system over the last 20 years.

The programme cost $5.88 million to run in 2021. Without the programme, our public health system could have expected costs in 2021 of $39.9 million to treat viral blood-borne diseases such as HIV or hepatitis B and C and, injecting related injuries

This equates to $6.79 in benefits for every dollar spent on the programme. (Needle Exchange NZ, Neusseland, 12.04.2022)

https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE2204/S00036/needle-exchange-programme-doubles-its-economic-return.htm

Smart Syringe Vending Machines: Research Capabilities and Implications for Research Data Collection

David Otiashvili, Irma Kirtadze, Tamar Mgebrishvili, Ada Beselia, Mzia Tabatadze, Nikoloz Otiashvili, Allison J. Ober, and Martin Y. Iguchi

Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs 2021 82:6, 752-757 

https://www.jsad.com/doi/10.15288/jsad.2021.82.752

Could 30 years of political controversy on needle exchange programmes in Sweden contribute to scaling-up harm reduction services in the world? 

Karlsson N, Berglund T, Ekström AM, Hammarberg A, Tammi T. 

Nordisk Alkohol Nark. 2021 Feb;38(1):66-88. doi: 10.1177/1455072520965013. Epub 2020 Dec 17. PMID: 35309093; PMCID: PMC8899060.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8899060/

Substance Use, Hospitalizations, and Co-Occurring Disorders among Patients Transferred from a Needle Exchange Program to Opioid Maintenance Treatment. 

Bråbäck M, Brantefors A, Franck J, Brådvik L, Isendahl P, Nilsson S, Troberg K, Håkansson A. 

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Jan 8;19(2):697. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19020697. PMID: 35055519; PMCID: PMC8775654.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8775654/

UK. Scoping project: A peer-based needle exchange service in London

Joint Working Group on Substance Use and Hepatitis C, UK, Januar 2022

http://ljwg.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Scoping-project-A-peer-based-needle-exchange-service-in-London.pdf

A qualitative study on pharmacy policies toward over-the-counter syringe sales in a rural epicenter of US drug-related epidemics. 

Fadanelli, M., Cooper, H.L.F., Freeman, P.R. et al.

Harm Reduct J 19, 1 (2022). doi.org/10.1186/s12954-021-00569-2

https://harmreductionjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12954-021-00569-2

Is your syringe services program cost-saving to society? A methodological case study. 

Des Jarlais, D.C., Feelemyer, J., McKnight, C. et al.

Harm Reduct J 18, 126 (2021). doi.org/10.1186/s12954-021-00575-4

https://harmreductionjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12954-021-00575-4

Correlates of sharing of needles and syringes among people who inject drugs in Dhaka city, Bangladesh. 

Hemel MM, Reza MM, Shafiq TK, Kabir MI, Rana AM, Khan SI. 

J Infect Dev Ctries. 2021 Oct 31;15(10):1497-1506. doi: 10.3855/jidc.13629. PMID: 34780373.

https://jidc.org/index.php/journal/article/view/34780373/2650

Implementation and first-year operating costs of an academic medical center-based syringe services program. 

Bartholomew, T.S., Patel, H., McCollister, K. et al.

Harm Reduct J 18, 116 (2021). doi.org/10.1186/s12954-021-00563-8

https://harmreductionjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12954-021-00563-8

Assessing the relationship between syringe exchange, pharmacy, and street sources of accessing syringes and injection drug use behavior in a pooled nationally representative sample of people who inject drugs in the United States from 2002 to 2019. 

Marotta, P.L., Stringer, K., Beletsky, L. et al.

Harm Reduct J 18, 115 (2021). doi.org/10.1186/s12954-021-00565-6

https://harmreductionjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12954-021-00565-6

Australien. The Bulletin - Vol. 18, ed. 4, November 2021

The Bulletin is a specialty publication for frontline workers in Australia’s Needle and Syringe programs (NSPs).

Herausgeber: Penington Institute, Australien

https://bulletin.penington.org.au/

Syringe Services Programs' Role in Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S.: Why We Cannot Do It Without Them. 

Broz D, Carnes N, Chapin-Bardales J, Des Jarlais DC, Handanagic S, Jones CM, McClung RP, Asher AK. 

Am J Prev Med. 2021 Nov;61(5 Suppl 1):S118-S129. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2021.05.044. PMID: 34686281.

https://www.ajpmonline.org/article/S0749-3797(21)00389-5/fulltext

USA. CEQA lawsuits are blocking needle exchange programs. A new law will stop that 

SANTA CRUZ — For more than 30 years, public health officials and nonprofits in California have provided clean hypodermic needles to people who use them to inject drugs.

For nearly that entire time, opponents have accused the free needle programs of promoting drug use and homelessness.

But recently, opponents have deployed a novel strategy to shut them down: using environmental regulations to sue over needle waste. They argue that contaminated needles pollute parks and waterways — and their lawsuits have succeeded across the state. (Los Angeles Times, USA, 06.10.2021)

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-10-06/ceqa-lawsuits-are-blocking-needle-exchange-programs-a-new-law-will-stop-that

UK. Needle and Syringe Provision: Minimum Standards Checklist 

Minimum Standards for Needle Syringe Programme (NSP) Across Humankind These minimum standards must be used in conjunction with locally commissioned service level arrangements (e.g. for community pharmacy provision) documents where appropriate. They are to be used to improve coverage, reduce the risk of needle finds, and ensure consistent high-quality delivery of NSP within services and outreach provision across Humankind, including via mobile units and sub-contracted Pharmacies. These standards help to ensure that individuals receive a service based on harm reduction principles from well informed and responsive staff and volunteers, regardless of where they are in their recovery journey. (Humankind, UK, 2021)

https://humankindcharity.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Humankind-needle-and-syringe-provision-minimum-standards.pdf

Creativity, care and ‘messy’ drug use: A collective history of the early days of peer-led needle exchange in Dunedin, New Zealand

MagdalenaHarris

International Journal of Drug Policy, Available online 19 August 2021, 103386, doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2021.103386

Abstract

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0955395921002917

USA. As Overdoses Soar, This State’s Largest Needle Exchange Is Being Evicted

Syringe-access sites have been proven to reduce opioid overdoses and curb disease. New Jersey is about to shut down its biggest one. (New York Times, 11.08.2021)

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/10/nyregion/nj-needle-exchange.html

  1. “We're actually more of a likely ally than an unlikely ally”: relationships between syringe services programs and law enforcement. 
  2. Injections and infections: understanding syringe service program utilization in a rural state.
  3. USA. Atlantic City is poised to shut down its syringe exchange — amid warnings of dire public health consequences
  4. USA. A CDC Investigation Says West Virginia Needs Needle Exchanges — Which The State Outlawed — To Stop Its HIV Outbreak
  5. Schottland. Vending machines for drug users ‘can save lives’