What are the impacts of needle exchange on young injectors?

This study was designed to describe a sample of young injectors and to investigate how needle exchange programs (NEPs) may impact this group. Young injectors who did (n = 86) and did not (n = 75) use NEPs were recruited in three California cities. Participants were asked about potential negative effects of NEPs, and about sexual and injection risk behavior. Few youth believed that availability of needles through NEPs makes drug users begin injecting earlier, inject more frequently, or be less inclined to seek drug treatment. Exchangers were less likely to have multiple sharing partners, less likely to reuse syringes, and less likely to own fewer than five syringes. NEP participation was not associated with sharing needles, sharing rinse water, inconsistent skin cleaning, or being injected by another person. Results are limited by the use of convenience sampling and by the limited number of potential negative effects examined. However, most young injectors did not believe that NEPs increase drug use or decrease treatment readiness, and some risk behaviors were lower among exchangers than among nonexchangers.