“I didn't go for the needle at all. I never cared for drugs, because I saw what they did to most people. I thought that was the end of the road.” PeopleEndsSawsDrugNeedlesEnd Of The Road Book:Al Pacino Source: Al Pacino
“Avoid all needle drugs, the only dope worth shooting is Richard Nixon.” FunnyPoliticalPoliticsDemocracyDrugShootingPotNeedlesCocaineDopeDrug AddictionDrug AddictSacred CowsFunny Drug Author:Abbie Hoffman
“There is a safe, nontoxic drug called naloxone that can instantly reverse opioid overdose and prevent most of these deaths. But the drug war interferes with saving overdose victims in two ways: first, because witnesses to overdose fear prosecution, they often don't call for help until it's too late. Second, because the drug war supports the belief that making naloxone available over-the-counter or with opioid prescriptions would encourage drug use, the antidote is available only through harm reduction programs like needle exchanges or in some state programs aimed at drug users.” WayFirstsTwoWarStatesHelpingUseBeliefSupportDrugSafeLateProgramVictimAvailableHarmSavingWitnessToo LateUsersReverseInterfereAntidoteTwo WaysNeedlesReductionPrescriptionsWar On DrugsProsecutionDrug UseOverdoseOpioids Author:Maia Szalavitz
“Drug warriors' staunch opposition to needle exchanges to prevent the spread of HIV in addicts delayed the programs' widespread introduction in most states for years. A federal ban on funding for these programs wasn't lifted until 2009. Contrast this with what happened in the U.K. At the peak of the AIDS epidemic in the mid-1990s, the HIV infection rate in IV drug users in the U.K. was about 1%. In New York City, the American epicenter, that figure was 50%. The British had introduced widespread needle exchange in 1986. That country had no heterosexual AIDS epidemic.” YearsCountryStatesCitiesHappenedFiguresNew YorkDrugProgramRateSpreadBritishAidsWarriorOppositionNew York CityContrastUsersAddictIntroductionFundingHivNeedlesBansEpidemicsWar On DrugsInfectionDelayedAids Epidemic Author:Maia Szalavitz
“Well, we can't leave anyone behind just because they are sex workers or they are needle users, intravenous drug users, prostitutes.” WellsSexBehindsDrugWorkersUsersNeedles Author:Elton John
“My idea of what was going on in politics was driven by activism. I came out when I was 17, and right away I started working in the AIDS activist movement. For me, politics was about getting drugs approved and getting prisoners access to the same kind of drugs that you could get on the outside. It was about getting needle exchanges approved. That was politics. These were policy problems that were killing people, and we were trying to get them changed.” PeopleTryingKindIdeasProblemPolicyMovementChangedDrugKillingDrivenActivismAidsAccessActivistPrisonerNeedlesApproved Author:Rachel Maddow