"Discarded Syringes From Heroin Crisis Create Health, Environmental Problems"
They hide in weeds along hiking trails and in playground grass. They wash into rivers and float downstream to land on beaches. Syringes left by drug users amid the heroin crisis are turning up everywhere. People, often children, risk getting stuck by discarded needles, raising the prospect they could contract blood-borne diseases such as hepatitis or HIV or be exposed to remnants of heroin or other drugs. The needles are tossed out of carelessness or the fear of being prosecuted for possessing them. Some experts say the problem will ease only when more users get treatment and more funding is directed to treatment programs. Studies have found that needles exchange programs can reduce pollution, said Don Des Jarlais, PhD, professor of psychiatry, environmental science and public health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
- Don Des Jarlais, PhD, Professor, Psychiatry, Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
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