Indiana To Institute Needle Exchange Program In Response To HIV Outbreak.

“a drug-related HIV outbreak in rural Indiana has prompted Indiana Gov. Mike Pence to declare a public health emergency and take the unusual step of instituting a 30-day needle exchange program in the hardest-hit area.” Although Pence is generally against such programs, he said he was “prepared to make an exception.” Needle exchange programs “have been endorsed or supported by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Centers for Disease Control, the U.S. Surgeon General, the World Health Organization, the American Medical Association, the White House Office on National Drug Control Policy, the National Institutes of Health,” and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/03/31/politicians-need-to-get-over-their-squeamishness-about-needle-exchange-programs/