Understanding femoral injecting — part 1 of 2

Part 1 of an interview with Tim Rhodes about femoral injecting

Knowing the score: a doctor addict tells his story

The vein stands up, proud and inviting. The syringe sits on the bedside table, the new orange needle gleaming expectantly.One of the small benefits of being a doctor and an addict is that clean needles are easily available, and the risk of HIV and hepatitis B or C infection is low. I had used a green needle to draw up the drug, a needle that can reach right to the bottom of the ampoule, so that not one drop will be missed. Beside the syringe lies the empty packet of Cyclimorph; the red and blue packaging is so distinctive to me that if it was lying on the road a mile away I would spot it.

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Cambridege Police defend DIY Drug Kits

Chief Constable Julie Spence has defended the use of ‘DIY drug kits’ for addicts in Cambridge.The scheme began at Parkside police station on June 7 and was due to run for a week.

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Legislative and Policy Barriers to Needle & Syringe Programs and Injecting Equipment Access for People Who Inject Drugs

This national policy discussion paper has been developed and published by the Australian Injecting and Illicit Drug Users League (AIVL). AIVL is the national peak organisation for the state and territory drug user organisations and represents issues of national significance for people who use illicit drugs and people on opioid pharmacotherapy.

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Overdose experiences among injection drug users in Bangkok, Thailand

Although previous studies have identified high levels of drug-related harm in  Thailand, little is known about illicit drug overdose experiences among Thai drug users. We sought to investigate non-fatal overdose experiences and responses to
overdose among a community-recruited sample of injection drug users (IDU) in Bangkok, Thailand.

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Counselling as well as drug treatment needed to reduce risky behaviour in opioid-using youth

Extended treatment with buprenorphine/naloxone helps reduce levels of injecting drug use and sexual activity in opioid-using youth, according to US research published in the online edition of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.

However, therapy did not reduce rates of injecting practices involving a risk of HIV transmission, nor did it reduce levels of unprotected sex.
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Assisted injection in outdoor venues: an observational study of risks and implications for service delivery and harm reduction programming

Assisted injection and public injection have both been associated with a variety of individual harms including an increased risk of HIV infection. As a means of informing local IDU-driven interventions that target or seek to address assisted injection, we examined the correlates of receiving assistance with injecting in outdoor
settings among a cohort of persons who inject drugs (IDU).

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Do needle-exchange programs really work?

(Reuters Health) - Needle-exchange programs designed to cut injection drug users’ risk of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and other infections do seem to reduce needle sharing, but there is only limited evidence that they lower disease transmission, a new research review concludes.

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Failure to aid drug users drives HIV spread: study

More than 90 percent of the world’s 16 million injecting drug users are offered no help to avoid contracting AIDS, and governments that ignore them risk a spiraling public health crisis, drugs experts said on Monday.

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Why we turn our backs on drug addicts at our peril

Nobody loves a junkie. In most parts of the world, drug addicts are at the bottom of the pile. If there is money for health, it’s likely they will be the last to get any of it.