• 🇳🇿 🇲🇲 🇯🇵 🇨🇳 🇦🇺 🇦🇶 🇮🇳
    Australian & Asian
    Drug Discussion

    Welcome Guest!
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
  • AADD Moderators: swilow | Vagabond696

The Needle Stigma

^mr. ep - of course, the way you take a drug is inextricably tied into any dependence syndrome you might experience. For example - nicotine is for many people associated with smoking cigarettes. Ask someone on patches if they still get cigarette cravings - if they do, that's dependence on route of administration - different shit same stink ;)

TN - the "junkie" label and associated stigma is a classic example of the fundamental attribution error - attributing behaviour to the character or disposition of the person, rather than taking into account structural/environmental issues. Hence injecting drug use is attributed to a deviant personality - the "junkie". No-one likes that label applied to themselves - in fact I'd go so far as to say that there's no such thing; it's just a hypothetical personality type generated through application of the fundamental attribution error.
 
mrephedrine69 said:
I'd say the stigma is beacause needle use is a double whammie.

Many non-needle users get addicted to drugs.

Many needle users get addicted to drugs AND addicted to the needle.
Click to expand...

I think that's true, but it's not the cause of 'needle stigma'.

If we're talking about 'needle stigma' as the general attitude of most people, drug users or not, to needles, then I think you have to admit that it comes from the association with junkies and addiction.

Most people don't know what needle fetish is. It's not the source of 'needle stigma', although it is real.
 
Originally posted by satricion
If we're talking about 'needle stigma' as the general attitude of most people, drug users or not, to needles, then I think you have to admit that it comes from the association with junkies and addiction.
Click to expand...

Very true.

I guess modern media also would have a part to play. Whenever they portray a junkie, it's someone using a needle with track marks up their arms in an alley somewhere. For someone that knows nothing about drugs, this is what they correlate together:

Needles <----> Junkies

Also, if we think back a few years there was a lot of heavy media coverage on the Heroin epidemic going on then and the influx of crime (break and enters, thefts) attributed to people trying to support their habit.
People in certain areas became afraid. It's pretty common knowledge that the majority of Heroin users then and now inject(ed) the substance with a needle.There were (and still are in some places) needles in parks, in the drains, and in the local school yards.

I think this helped people develop an automatic dis-taste to anyone that used needles, as it was affecting their community.

I remember mass newspaper spreads in VIC on people getting pricked by 'junkie's' needles on the beach waiting weeks for tests to see whether they had contracted HIV. People became afraid to go to beaches such as St Kilda beach. There were also newspaper articles and news on TV almost every other night of Heroin addicts dropping by the dozen.

So maybe the heroin boom, the relentless media coverage of it, and all the needles scattered across the community a few years back helped contribute to the general stigma?
 
I have to say though that every needle user I have ever met was either a heroin addict or an ex heroin addict.

I'm not sure why this is...it could either be because shooting heroin is so much better than any other route of administration, and hence shooting heroin is more addictive and people get addicted...

Or it could be because by the time someone decides they want to shoot up, they're either already addicted or so "into" drugs that they're more at risk of getting addicted anyway. I think people who use needles are generally a bit too "into" drugs anyway, but that's my personal prejudice I guess.

Or it could be because needle use is part of the environment that they find themselves in when they use the drug, and so rather than being a concious decision to "step up" to needle use, people just use needles because that's what the accepted thing to do is.

To be honest I'd say it's probably a mixture of the three, with different factors being important for different people in different circumstances.
 
doof doofer said:
Originally posted by Killing_time
PLUS anythin' that hurts when you take it just ain't on.
:\
PEACE

Meh...railing a line of speed or MDMA hurts a hell of a lot more than the short, sharp jab of a needle ;).
Click to expand...
SHHHHHHHHH!
Don't spread the word or people will start taking drugs!!!!
=D
PEACE
 
satricion said:
I have to say though that every needle user I have ever met was either a heroin addict or an ex heroin addict.

I'm not sure why this is...it could either be because shooting heroin is so much better than any other route of administration, and hence shooting heroin is more addictive and people get addicted...

Or it could be because by the time someone decides they want to shoot up, they're either already addicted or so "into" drugs that they're more at risk of getting addicted anyway. I think people who use needles are generally a bit too "into" drugs anyway, but that's my personal prejudice I guess.

Or it could be because needle use is part of the environment that they find themselves in when they use the drug, and so rather than being a concious decision to "step up" to needle use, people just use needles because that's what the accepted thing to do is.

To be honest I'd say it's probably a mixture of the three, with different factors being important for different people in different circumstances.
Click to expand...

I know plenty of people who use needles and have never used heroin, some I would not even consider addicts to their drug of choice. Just a weekend methamphetamine user, they just shoot instead of smoke. In our circles it definately isn't the accepted method of administration either.
 
^^
Hmm interesting, especially since smoking is held by many people to be better than shooting.

Anyway I can only talk from my own perspective as someone who only has experience with heroin and not so much with meth. :)
 
personally for me, its the fact that whenever i have had an immunisation or smth similiar i feel instantly sick and faint when i feel the actual fluid rush into my muscle or vein, that cold rushing feeling just makes me sick to my stomach. the little pin prick or jab doesn really hurt but its just the next bit that i dont like.
 
im not really sure what the stigma with needles is, alot of my friends are happy to rail this and that, drop pills without testing them or knowing who they are from, but ask about injection and they say stuff like "no man im not junkie etc etc" i think they main 'stigma' around it for me is not knowing how to do it properly and just wanting to stay safe, i know that injecting straight into your blood stream has a very high risk of od'ing if doses arnt right etc and thats where my 'stigma' if you can call it that comes from
 
Im not againts Needles at all but Personally I just could not bring myself to do it! Iam not a junkee and I have never shooted up, but I know even consuming speed that I have felt like having more and more and that is when I said to myself, I dont wana be a junkee!

People have to understand that you don't have to jab a needle in your arm to be a junkee, I have nothing against needles, but I do however have strong views against some people who use them (junkees that are too far gone to have a care for people in the world other than themselves) Leaving syringes on the ground, at the beach... I was in frankston a coupld of yr ago for sailing national titles where a 5yr old kid stepped on a needle! just the thought that you may someday contract HIV/Aids/Hep B/C is just a disgusting thought and the Junkees out there that do this should be ashamed of themselves I mean it isn't that hard to find a sharps bin or even put the used syringe in a coke bottle etc....

As said again I have nothing against People that inject just as long as they do it properly and don't leave the mess there for some poor 5 year old kid to step on!

I myself just would not be abl to bring myself to do it, as I fear of rolling veins and putting more holes in myself then I need!

=D
 
during a journey up the great western hwy i stopped off at the macdonalds/servo at eastern creek. Anyway taking the dog for a walk near where the truckies park i noticed a huge number of needles lying around. most of the smackies i've know at cabramatta used to put their used piks in plastic bottles for disposal. surprised the hell out of me....

anyway i don't think a needle makes someone an addicted. It makes me laugh to remember how when my former loser friends used to argue black and blue over my use of a needle yet would regularly attack their drug of choice (usally pot) with far more gusto then i could muster on even the worst of worst benders....

i've helped many of my friends safely IV smack and speed and their not addicted and most haven't even bothered to take since their first time. Hell its helped most get over their phobia's about needles.
 
I think I worded my post wrong and people may think Iam saying you are more likely to become an addict shooting up!

However not true! I was not saying that! I was saying that Even with just consuming large amounts of speed I have felt like I've needed more n more, but I told myself I didnt want to become a junkee!

You don't have to inject speed or harry to become a junkee, is what I meant to say! and even if you are a junkee (addict) does not mean that they all leave their needles laying around alot of heroin addicts live out the rest of their lives as normal people and you would not even suspect them of being addicts!

But what I was saying was I would not be able to inject myself! I could prolly do it if one of my friends was a Nurse or something!

Hence what I said, Fear of rolling veins and putting more holes in myself than I need! ;)

Anyway I hope that clears that up, Peace!
 
Just some figures about stepping on needles & getting HIV etc...

NO-ONE in Australia has got HIV or hep C from getting pricked with a needle lying around in a park or at the beach - or in fact anywhere outside of a medical or work setting.

It's a very very VERY low risk situation :)
 
so it's okay to leave their needles laying on the beach or in park?

I mean dude it ain't that fuckin hard to put them in a sharps bin or empty drink bottle!!!
 
Leaving needles around is just plain stupid, wrong and lazy. It takes all of 10 seconds to dispose of them properly, and at no cost for you. What happens if someone steps on it? They have weeks/months of waiting for test results, which even if negative leave long lasting effects. It brings a bad name for all other needle users who dispose of needles properly, and it's just stupid.
 
I don't think ayjay was saying that it's ok to unsafely dispose of used injecting equipment. He was just pointing out that despite the media hysteria that goes with needle stick injuries in a community setting (park, beach etc) no one has ever contracted a blood borne infection.

The most common complication from a community needle stick injury is tetanus.
 
Special-T.B.K said:
so it's okay to leave their needles laying on the beach or in park?

I mean dude it ain't that fuckin hard to put them in a sharps bin or empty drink bottle!!!
Click to expand...

To give a counter-example: I flew from Sydney (Virgin) yesterday - in the toilets next to gate 35 was a sign; "Syringe disposal facilities are available at the First Aid room between gates 3 and 5". Do you really think anyone is going to take advantage of these marvellous "facilities"?

This thread is about stigma: sure, some people litter, be it fastfood wrappers, ciggy butts or fits. The question is WHY do people get so much more disgusted about injecting litter (compared to, say, cigarette butts), given the low risk they represent?

Having done laneway cleanups for a job in the past, I can tell you for a fact that many people get just as upset about a fit WRAPPER as a fit itself. It's not about safety, it's about bigotry 8(
 
by ayjay
Just some figures about stepping on needles & getting HIV etc...

NO-ONE in Australia has got HIV or hep C from getting pricked with a needle lying around in a park or at the beach - or in fact anywhere outside of a medical or work setting.

It's a very very VERY low risk situation

source?????

my mate is awaiting results atm.....
 
Here's two references. There are more if you'd like them. This is a well researched topic in Australia. HIV and Hep C are "notifiable" infections in most (all?) Australian states. New infections are reported to government health departments who monitor their spread. If someone was diagnosed with a blood borne virus from a community-acquired needlestick injury, it would be big news.

Community acquired needlestick injuries in non-health care workers presenting to an urban emergency department

Emerg Med (Fremantle). 2003 Oct-Dec;15(5-6):434-40

O'Leary FM, Green TC.

Department of Emergency Medicine, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

OBJECTIVES: To review the epidemiology and demographics of community acquired needlestick injuries in non-health care workers attending an urban ED.

METHODS: A retrospective analysis of patients with needlestick injuries attending the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital from 1996 to 2001.

RESULTS: One hundred and twenty cases were reviewed. The most common mechanism of injury was exposure to discarded syringes (68%). Forty three (36%) injuries were work related. Twenty four (20%) were non-accidental. Ten (8%) patients received human immunodeficiency virus post exposure prophylaxis. There were no viral seroconversions in the patients with data available.

CONCLUSIONS: We have identified three groups, males, cleaners and police officers, who are at particular risk of injury. Community education is required so that medical assessment is sought early and to increase awareness of these injuries. The provision of post exposure prophylaxis requires individualized risk assessment, as only in a minority of cases is the source available for testing.


Blood-borne viruses and their survival in the environment: is public concern about community needlestick exposures justified?

Aust N Z J Public Health. 2003 Dec;27(6):602-7

Thompson SC, Boughton CR, Dore GJ.

Sexual Health and Blood-borne Virus Program, Communicable Diseases Control Branch, Department of Health, Perth, Western Australia

BACKGROUND: More than 30 million needle syringes are distributed per year in Australia as a component of harm-reduction strategies for injecting drug users (IDU). Discarded needle syringes create considerable anxiety within the community, but the extent of needlestick injuries and level of blood-borne virus transmission risk is unclear.

We have undertaken a review of studies of blood-borne virus survival as the basis for advice and management of community needlestick injuries.

METHODS: A Medline review of published articles on blood-borne virus survival and outcome from community injuries.

RESULTS: Hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can all survive outside the human body for several weeks, with virus survival influenced by virus titer, volume of blood, ambient temperature, exposure to sunlight and humidity.

HBV has the highest virus titers in untreated individuals and is viable for the most prolonged periods in needle syringes stored at room temperature. However, prevalence of HBV and HIV are only 1-2% within the Australian IDU population.

In contrast, prevalence of HCV is 50-60% among Australian IDUs and virus survival in needle syringes has been documented for prolonged periods. There have been no published cases of blood-borne virus transmission following community needlestick injury in Australia.

CONCLUSION: The risk of blood-borne virus transmission from syringes discarded in community settings appears to be very low. Despite this, procedures to systematically follow up individuals following significant needlestick exposures sustained in the community setting should be developed.
 
Last edited:
needles havent got me into any real trouble they stuff inside the barrle hasn't even got me in any real trouble. crack tho thats got me in a shitload of shit. but according to my councelers my "needleplay" is far more "life ruining" then my crack play. heh i made the crack play thing up.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top