Clean shots

Jon Stuen Parker and Andrew Hoffman, son of radical Abbie Hoffman, won their battle with the City of Chicago when a judge acquitted them of charges that they knowingly broke Illinois law by participating in the illicit act of needle exchange. Illinois is one of only nine states that prohibit the distribution of sterile syringes by non-medical personnel. Parker, founder of the AIDS Brigade, has been arrested 43 times for distribution and possession of hypodermic needles, and has been found not guilty in 41 of the 43 cases. Shared needles and paraphernalia are leading factors in the spread of HIV and AIDS among injection drug users. Several Federal government agencies and national drug abuse organizations support needle exchange programs on the basis that they do not increase drug use, are effective in reducing the spread of AIDS, and serve as a bridge to drug treatment and services to needle exchange clients. Still, fewer that 50 needle exchange programs operate today. Syringe exchange could cut new infections by half, if Illinois would revamp its syringe law.