The service promotes health protection for intravenous drug users and to reduce the risk of passing on infections to others. However, needle exchange is not just for people who inject heroin, crack or amphetamine. The service is also for those who use or are about to start using: steroids or other performance or image enhancing drugs PIEDs psychoactive compounds, chemicals, plants or medicines methamphetamine, ketamine or medicines Project based needle exchange staff provide advice and information on issues related to these substances.
Needle exchange services Needle and syringe exchange is available through selected pharmacies and drug treatment agencies displaying the needle exchange logo.
Some pharmacies can issue basic needle and syringe packs and accept used needles and syringes. See syringe pack contents list. Agency-based needle exchanges offer a wider range of equipment in addition to further harm reduction advice, testing for blood-borne viruses BBVs and inoculation for hepatitis A and B.
There is also the opportunity to discuss treatment options. Privacy Click to read our confidentiality statement. Free articles View our huge harm reduction archive. Need help? Call us on or click here.
Secure and confidential payment Click here for details. Discreet packaging Exchange Supplies is an organisation with our roots in the provision of confidential drug services, and we absolutely understand the need for discretion in the outer packaging of our goods when shipping to individual customers.
If you tick the discreet packaging tick box your order will be shipped in plain packaging, looking just like any other mail order package. There will be no branding, stickers, logos, or stamps on the outside that would enable someone to guess what the contents are.
Overseas orders may have to contain a customs notification declaring the contents. Exchange Supplies privacy policy Exchange Supplies is an organisation with its foundations in the provision of confidential healthcare to a patient group who care more about their confidentiality than any other - injecting drug users. So you know we really mean it when we say we take your privacy, and right to confidentiality, very seriously. We dispatch goods to individuals in plain packaging. One-for-one syringe exchanges are much stricter: People can get new syringes, but only to replace the exact number that are returned.
Often, one-for-one exchanges also have a cap on the number of syringes that can be accessed at one time. One-for-one exchanges and other policies that limit the number of syringes that people can access at one time make it more likely that people will end up re-using, or sharing, injection drug equipment , Heimer says. A study of syringe exchanges in San Francisco, Chicago and Baltimore conducted in the early s measured syringe re-use over time to assess the impact of these fairly new exchange programs.
In all three cities, the percentage of people who reported using a syringe only once before returning it increased over time. But in Chicago—the city that did not operate on a strictly one-for-one exchange—the percentage of people reporting only one injection per syringe went up dramatically from 6. In the early nineties, Chicago allowed ten syringes to be distributed for the first five returned with no limit on the total number that could be exchanged but the other two cities at that time operated on a strict one-to-one exchange.
Another study, conducted between and , compared drug-use practices among people in Chicago, Oakland and Hartford. The study found that people in cities with more permissive syringe access policies that allow for greater access Chicago and Oakland were significantly less likely to reuse syringes than people who were only able to get syringes one-to-one with a limit capped at 10 Hartford.
A recently published report of peer-based qualitative research done with people who inject drugs in Australia makes is clear that people prefer not to re-use syringes.
But participants were very clear that re-use did happen when restrictions were placed on the number of syringes people could access per day. One-for-one exchanges, and other policies that limit the number of syringes that people can access, were developed with the idea that fewer syringes would be improperly discarded when the number of syringes people can access is limited to the number of used syringes they return.
He points to city-level data conducted in three cities across the U. The city with the most liberal policy—Chicago—also had the highest rate of return of syringes. Other health department programs or services that use injection equipment like immunization services are not affected by the restriction on use of state funds for syringes or injection supplies.
Is there a restriction on how many syringes can be given per exchange? No, there is not. Included in the syringe exchange authorization is a provision that protects program employees, volunteers, and participants from being charged with possession of syringes or other injection supplies, including those with residual amounts of controlled substances, if the syringes or supplies were obtained or returned to a SEP.
Limited immunity does not provide protection for people stopped while holding illegal drugs or holding paraphernalia not obtained from a syringe exchange. Program employees, volunteers, and participants must provide written verification such as a participant card or other documentation to be granted limited immunity.
Programs should provide information about limited immunity and interacting with law enforcement when participants begin visiting an exchange. Exchanges should provide anonymous exchange IDs or proof of participation in a syringe exchange to participants to be used in the event they are stopped with syringes or injection supplies.
Why do law enforcement agencies need to be notified of exchange operations? Organizational security plans are needed to ensure the safety of exchange staff, volunteers, and participants, and responding law enforcement officers should be aware of internal security plans should an emergency occur.
Exchange programs should provide staff, volunteers, and participants with written identification or proof of participation to present to a law enforcement officer if stopped while carrying injection equipment and are advised to share with law enforcement what form of documentation they are issuing.
At minimum, exchange sites should be securely locked when not operating. Syringes and other supplies should be kept locked and the exchange must take reasonable steps to protect the health and safety of staff, volunteers and participants. What are the requirements for an exchange after the program has been registered with the Division of Public Health? Syringe exchanges must provide an annual report to the Division of Public Health that includes, but is not limited to, the following information:.
The number of needles, hypodermic syringes and injection supplies dispensed by and returned to the exchange;. The number and type of treatment referrals provided, including a separate report of the number of individuals referred to programs that provide access to naloxone if the exchange itself does not provide naloxone to participants. The annual reporting form can be found here.
Why does this information need to be reported to the Division of Public Health? By working directly with people who inject or otherwise use drugs, community-based organizations and health departments among other groups or programs will have a detailed understanding of specific health issues or trends in the areas they serve.
Reporting that information to the Division of Public Health allows North Carolina to gain a deeper understanding of drug use and associated health effects across the state.
Annual reporting is also an opportunity to provide input as North Carolina establishes syringe exchange programs and provides an assessment of the level of need for clean syringes in the community.
If you are a staff member or volunteer and your exchange is responding to unusual or urgent issues among your participants different kinds of drugs, localized disease outbreaks, harassment or barriers to care, etc. Submit forms and any questions to SyringeExchangeNC dhhs. How can I start a syringe exchange program in my area? The first step to starting an exchange is gathering your stakeholders and creating a plan for how to organize, staff, fund, and operate the exchange.
Potential stakeholders can include local health departments or programs, HIV prevention and AIDS service organizations, drug treatment centers and recovery communities, local user unions, and people otherwise affected by drug use. It is also helpful to reach out to local law enforcement even before submitting your security plan. Once you have created a plan with stakeholders, decided on an exchange model, and secured reliable funding, you need to submit the registration form mentioned above to the Division of Public Health before you can begin operations.
An important note: when starting an exchange, you may want to offer as many services and as much availability as possible. Because effective exchange programs become extremely important, relied-upon, and trusted resources for preventative health and medical and social services, it is wiser to expand services only once you are sure that new programs can be sustained rather than starting with many resources that may then have to be cut.
Develop a robust referral or connection to care system for exchange participants until you can reliably provide your own in-house programs. Syringe exchange programs in North Carolina, whether operated by community organizations or state or county entities, may not use state funds for the purchasing of needles, hypodermic syringes, or other injection supplies but may use state funds for other parts of program development and operation.
Local funds may be used for the purchasing of these supplies. Please check the Funding Syringe Exchange Programs for information about purchased and donated syringes and injection equipment. Syringe exchange programs operating in North Carolina are required to provide the following: Safe disposal of used needles and hypodermic syringes New needles, hypodermic syringes and other injection supplies free of charge and in sufficient quantities to ensure that needles, syringes and other injection supplies are not shared or reused Reasonable and adequate security for program sites, equipment and personnel.
Educational materials on all of the following: overdose prevention; the prevention of HIV and viral hepatitis transmission; drug abuse prevention; treatment options for mental health issues, including treatment referrals; and treatment for substance use disorders, including referrals for MAT Access to naloxone kits that contain naloxone hydrochloride or referrals to programs that provide access to naloxone For each individual requesting services, personal consultation from a program employee or volunteer concerning mental health or substance use disorder treatment, as appropriate Visiting and Participating in Syringe Exchange Programs Who can visit a syringe exchange?
Health Services, Harm Reduction and Treatment Resources What are the differences between drug use, dependence and addiction? According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse , Addiction—or compulsive drug use despite harmful consequences—is characterized by an inability to stop using a drug; failure to meet work, social, or family obligations; and, sometimes depending on the drug , tolerance and withdrawal.
Each syringe exchange must report the following information to the North Carolina Division of Public Health before starting operations: 1. The legal name of the organization or agency operating the program; 2. The areas and populations to be served by the program; 3.
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