Political Quotes

“I heard a colleague early on in the debate say clearly that the evidence was all on one side; that, in fact, there was clear and convincing evidence that these programs indisputably work, that they lower HIV conversion, and that they do not increase drug abuse. And he said, I cannot believe that that is not true. It is absolutely true. And speaker after speaker has come to this floor and cited scientific studies. But do my colleagues know what? There are studies on both sides of the aisle. Quite frankly, one thing is very obvious from this debate. The science is, in fact, divided on this issue. No one can maintain that it is absolutely clear. I want to cite James L. Curtis, a medical doctor and a clinical professor of psychiatry at Harlem Hospital Center, a black American himself. He says point blank, ``There is no evidence that such programs work.'' He says, citing the Montreal and Vancouver studies, that they show that those addicts who took part in the program were two to three times more likely to become infected with AIDS than those who did not.”