NCJ Number
120972
Journal
International Journal on Drug Policy Volume: 1 Issue: 2 Dated: (September/October 1989) Pages: 28-32
Date Published
1989
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This case study demonstrates how a private advocacy organization (the Association for Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment) influenced gaining assent for a small needle exchange program in New York City to help reduce the transmission of the AIDS virus among and through intravenous drug users.
Abstract
The program provides sterile needles in exchange for used needles to help reduce the risk of transmitting the AIDS virus through the reuse of "dirty" needles. It took 3 years for the city to approve a small experimental needle exchange program. There are broad forces in New York City that determine how government will respond to an issue as controversial as a needle exchange program for addicts at risk from AIDS. This study identifies these forces. It analyzes the policy formulation of the needle exchange program from a sociological perspective. The article's thesis is that when dominant political forces perpetuate a status quo and fail to respond to an epidemic, a private advocacy organization representing a competing ideology becomes necessary to compel the government to act. The article applies the concepts of repressed and dominant structural interests (Alford, 1975) before reviewing international needle regulations and efforts to institute New York City's needle exchange program. It proposes that a competing ideology is emerging and discusses implications for New York City's test project. 39 references.