Paul Coverdell: “For the past 10 years, as a black psychiatrist specializing in addiction, I have warned about the dangers of…”

“For the past 10 years, as a black psychiatrist specializing in addiction, I have warned about the dangers of needle-exchange policies, which hurt not only individual addicts but also poor and minority communities. There is no evidence that such programs work. . . . Studies in Montreal and Vancouver . . . found that those addicts who took part in such exchanges were two to three times more likely to become infected with HIV than those who did not participate. They also found that almost half the addicts frequently shared needles with others anyway. . . . Needle-exchange programs are reckless experiments. . . . Needle exchanges also affect poor communities adversely. For instance, the Lower East Side Harm Reduction Center is one of New York City's largest needle-exchange programs. According to tenant groups I talked to, the center, since it began in 1992, has become a magnet not only for addicts but for dealers as well. . . . The indisputable fact is that needle exchanges merely help addicts continue to use drugs. . . . Mr. President, I point out the last time that an amendment like this appeared before the Senate, it was adopted 96-4. General McCaffrey, the Nation's drug czar, says: As public servants, citizens and parents, we owe our children an unambiguous no use message.…”