GREENFIELD — Syringe exchange programs have drawn controversy almost everywhere they’re been talked about, but not in Greenfield so far.
During each of the six meetings held since December, the overwhelming majority of those in attendance have said the same thing: Greenfield should have its own needle exchange program because the data doesn’t lie. Wednesday night’s Board of Health meeting was no different. The only voices raised were those in favor of the program.
“The data is clear; there is no question,” said Julie Payne Britton, program supervisor of the Partial Hospitalization Program at Baystate Medical Center: “Needle exchange programs take drugs off the streets. They make communities safer. This is a chance for Greenfield to act on data, and not on the way things used to be. And in doing so, to work out of a place of compassion.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control, “Syringe exchange programs provide free sterile syringes and collect used syringes from injection-drug users to reduce transmission of bloodborne pathogens (such as HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C).”
Due to the recent heroin epidemic, syringe exchange programs have been in the spotlight, but they’ve been around for a lot longer than that, dating back to the 1970s.
Researchers have been looking at data on the programs for just as long. A 1997 study on exchange programs by The National Institutes of Health found that people in areas with needle exchange programs had an increased likelihood of entering drug treatment programs.
Regardless of statistics, some are still opposed — citing fear of increased drug use. Britton said that those fears are unfounded and “come from an older way of thinking.”
In a letter from Thomas Higgins, Interim President of Baystate Franklin Medical Center, (which Britton read aloud to board members) Higgins said that the needle exchange program is important because it helps to remove the stigma from drug addiction:
“A needle exchange program offers a point of contact with a nonjudgmental, compassionate person, an opportunity for Narcan education and distribution, and the possibility of intervention and referral to treatment.”
RECOVER Project Director Michael Lewis agreed. He also said that the program is cost-effective because it prevents health agencies from having to treat people with hepatitis or HIV, which costs a lot more than a needle exchange program.
The board expressed agreement with the audience, and said that next meeting, they’ll vote on whether the Greenfield Board of Health supports a needle exchange program. They’ll also give a presentation, which will include a town forum, and a chance for residents to again voice their opinion.
If that vote passes, the ultimate decision will rest on the Greenfield Town Council.
You can reach Andy Castillo at: acastillo@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 263.
On Twitter @AndyCCastillo