Self-Reported Reasons for Needle Sharing and Not Carrying Bleach Among Injection Drug Users in Baltimore, Maryland

• NCJ Number: 163940
• Journal: Journal of Drug Issues Volume: 25 Issue: 4 Dated: (Fall 1995) Pages: 865-870
• Author(s): C A Latkin; W Mandell; D Vlahov; A R Knowlton; M Oziemkowska; D D Celentano
• Date Published: 1995
• Length: 6 pages
• Grant Number(s): DA06326; DA08985; DA04334; DA05911
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute on Drug Abuse
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: DCC

Annotation

Data from 413 injection drug users in the Stop AIDS for Everyone (SAFE) program in Baltimore formed the basis of an analysis of the stated reasons for sharing needles and not intending to carry bleach.

Abstract

Sixty-nine percent reported that they know individuals who have had trouble with the police due to carrying needles. Thirty-eight percent of the injection drug users stated that the main reason they shared needles without cleaning them first with bleach was a sense of time urgency, and 30 percent reported that clean needles were not available. The most common reason given by 24 percent of the participants for not intending to carry bleach was that they inject at home where bleach is available. Another frequently mentioned reason for not intending to carry bleach was wanting to stop using drugs. Findings have implications for HIV prevention and suggest the importance of preventive interventions that emphasize drug users' planning where and when they will inject drugs. Findings also suggest that needle sharing may be partly an unintended consequence of Maryland's current laws on drug paraphernalia. Tables and 15 references (Author abstract modified)