Syringe exchange as a social movement: a case study of harm reduction in Oakland, California.
The federal ban on funding for syringe exchange programs (SEPs) has greatly hampered attempts to prevent the spread of HIV among injection drug users in the United States. State laws prohibiting the possession and/or distribution of syringes have made SEPs illegal. These factors have lent a unique social movement quality to harm reduction efforts in the United States. Using a social movement perspective, this paper explores dynamics of the implementation and defense of the syringe exchange program in Oakland, California. The advantages and disadvantages of the social movement aspects of harm reduction are discussed.
Bluthenthal
R N
RN
Institute for Health Policy Studies, University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, 94143-1304, USA. rnb@itsa.ucsf.edu
D002140:California; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D018671:Needle-Exchange Programs / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011057:Politics; D011322:Primary Prevention / Q000458:organization & administration*; D016730:Program Development; D012935:Social Justice; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000150:complications*; D019037:Urban Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*