During Mike Pence's tenure as the governor of Indiana, needle exchanges were banned. Consequently, there was a huge outbreak of HIV. He was forced to declare a public health emergency, during which the exchanges were once again permitted in the affected county. This slowed the outbreak. Following the order, the Indiana legislature passed HEA 1435, which allowed the needle exchanges to continue statewide. We should learn from the mistakes of other states in our rush to judge and punish addicts. Allowing addicts access to clean needles isn't about supporting their addiction. It is a public health issue. If you want to prioritize the lives of non-addicts over those who are addicted (not a very Christian thing to do), remember, disease outbreaks don't make those priorities, and others will be at risk.  

I highly disagree with this bill because making syringe exchange programs illegal can be HIGHLY damaging to our homeless community. Syringe exchange programs were created to keep drug using homeless people safer by giving them clean, sterile needles for exchange for the used ones. This keeps our streets clean from used needles, protecting curious kids and people who walk. It also prevents the spread of disease (AIDS, HIV, etc.) from people reusing the same needles or using needles they find lying around. Taking this away can reverse the positive, increasing disease, harming children, and making our streets unclean.