Criminal Justice

White House Backpedals on Needle Exchange

by Matt Kelley

category: War On Drugs

Published July 10, 2009 @ 06:26AM PT

A group of 26 activists was arrested yesterday in D.C. for protesting the White House's backpedaling on federal funding for needle exchanges.  Candidate Obama said he would reverse the federal ban on funding needle exchanges, but the White House's proposed budget continues the ban and President Obama now says he needs to move more slowly.

Needle exchanges prevent the spread of HIV and other diseases among drug users, and banning these programs make about as much sense as George Bush's abstinence-only ridiculousness. The ban on needle exchanges is pure head-in-the-sand drug war policy and I was under the optimistic impression that Obama was ending the drug war. We need to address drug abuse through treatment while still providing the needles that prevent the spread of disease among users.

In the video above, the protesters voices echo off the walls of the capitol: "Clean needles save lives." Kudos to these 26 souls for keeping the issue in the public eye.

From AmericaBlog:

The quote from Obama's spokesman is priceless:

Obama, during the primary campaign, pledged his support of needle exchange programs to slow the spread of HIV/AIDS. When he took over the White House, the administration website affirmed: "The President also supports lifting the federal ban on needle exchange, which could dramatically reduce rates of infection among drug users."

Yet Obama's budget includes language that bans spending federal money on needle-exchange programs.

White House spokesman Ben LaBolt said the administration isn't yet ready to lift the ban - but Obama still supports needle exchange.

"We have not removed the ban in our budget proposal because we want to work with Congress and the American public to build support for this change," he said.

Let's see...

1. The candidate promised to lift the ban.
2. The White House Web site reaffirmed the president's commitment to lifting the ban.
3. The White House Web site no longer reaffirms his commitment to lifting the ban.
4. The president now refuses to lift the ban.
5. The president actually affirmatively makes things worse by administratively supporting defending the ban.
6. The spokesman reiterates the president's support for lifting the ban, some day, once Congress gets around to it.

Sound familiar?