Harm Reduction Needle exchanges: how do most of them operate and what are your experiences?

[Oxymorphone]

I;ve never been to one because they have odd hours and inconvenient locations (the ghetto or the closest areas to it).

Now when you go to an exchange how many needles will they give you if you don't bring any? Is there generally a limit? What about if ou are bringing needles to exchange, if you bring 100 will thye give you 100? In general what types of needles do they give out and how are they?

Back when I used heroin I got my needles through my addict friend who went to an exchange and gave me needles when he would middleman dope for me. They were individually sealed and were a wider gauge than the 31G insulin syringe 10 packs I get for $3.50 at the pharmacy.

Now I know in some states it's only legal to posses up to 10 needles at a time, what happens if you go to an exchange with more than 10? That seems like a big risk. Also what is the deal with cards and being in a program, does that allow you to legally posess more?

I know the also give out other stuff like sterile water, tourniquets, mixing containers, cotton, sometimes condoms. Do they supply anything else? i wish they gave at micron filters, that would be sweet (someone posted that their exchange did, I doubt any in the US do). %)

I ask this because the only time I see it worth going to the exchange would be to drop off like 50 needles and get 50 more. I heard a guy in rehab telling me he worked at an exchange where they gave a guy boxes of 100 needles a day, I don't know if that's true or what the story was.

I'm thinking about going to one but I don't want to carry an illegal number of needles with me, I do want the sterile water and the other free stuff would be nice.

So what are your exchange experiences?

 

[bang that shit]

I always visit a needle exchange. Positive health projects on 37th in Manhattan to be exact. I mean I could always buy needles from a drug store.... but you cant beat free stuff.


I really like it there, people are super friendly. Free needles any size even 3cc. Bandages, tourniquets, cookers, alcohol swabs, guaze, sterile water, pre made cotton balls with a hole in them, these little mouth covers for crack pipes, and like 3 different kind of condoms.

And every wednesday there is a class if you sit through you get narcan to take home. haha and I like the place to cause its were I meet my dealer.

They also give you free biohazard boxes to store your dirty needles in. Im trying to find a pic I took ahwile back of all the stuff you can get there

 

[Oxymorphone]

I always visit a needle exchange. Positive health projects on 37th in Manhattan to be exact. I mean I could always buy needles from a drug store.... but you cant beat free stuff.


I really like it there, people are super friendly. Free needles any size even 3cc. Bandages, tourniquets, cookers, alcohol swabs, guaze, sterile water, pre made cotton balls with a whole in them, these little mouth covers for crack pipes, and like 3 different kind of condoms.

And every wednesday there is a class if you sit through you get narcan to take home. haha and I like the place to cause its were I meet my dealer.

They also give you free biohazard boxes to store your dirty needles in. Im trying to find a pic I took ahwile back of all the stuff you can get there

what's the exact address and hours? that sounds good maybe i'll hit it up tomorrow, can't hurt to have narcan around, that's pretty sweet.

 

[bang that shit]

what's the exact address and hours? that sounds good maybe i'll hit it up tomorrow, can't hurt to have narcan around, that's pretty sweet.

Narcan class is wednesday at 12.

You live in the city? thats chill

301 West 37th Street
New York, NY 10018-4211
(212) 465-8304

when you register you get 10 needles, and 10 needles for everyvisit+however many dirty needles you bring back you get a clean one in return so you could get 10 and if you had 7 dirty needles you would get 17.

btw what kinda bags u getting these days?


oh and no micron filters, infact I have called up every needle exchange in the city looking for them, but sadly none do.


Tomorrow its open 1pm to 9pm

 

[Oxymorphone]

Narcan class is wednesday at 12.

You live in the city? thats chill

301 West 37th Street
New York, NY 10018-4211
(212) 465-8304

when you register you get 10 needles, and 10 needles for everyvisit+however many dirty needles you bring back you get a clean one in return so you could get 10 and if you had 7 dirty needles you would get 17.

btw what kinda bags u getting these days?


oh and no micron filters, infact I have called up every needle exchange in the city looking for them, but sadly none do.


Tomorrow its open 1pm to 9pm

Oh that's pretty good, most ones i saw were like 11am-1pm. I'll definitely check it out, thanks.

I'm in recovery so no bags for me, I just shoot my suboxone and occasionally other stuff.

 

[bang that shit]

heres the pic

 

[Oxymorphone]

Sweet, I'm going.

 

[Captain.Heroin]

I can't wait until I come back from the exchange so I can have pix of everything for you all to see.

 

[Oxymorphone]

I can't wait until I come back from the exchange so I can have pix of everything for you all to see.

600 needles?

Still no one has answered my question. I thought the legal limit in NY at least was 10 syringes and any more was a crime to posses. But exchanges give out way more so what's the deal?

 

[HdoubleODeezy]

I think you get a card to carry around from the exchange saying it's legal for you to be carrying them.

Im not positive on that tho cuz ive never been to one.. but ive heard of people getting needle exchange cards of some kind.

 

[Captain.Heroin]

600 needles?

Still no one has answered my question. I thought the legal limit in NY at least was 10 syringes and any more was a crime to posses. But exchanges give out way more so what's the deal?

I don't think there's a quantity restriction on syringes where I live. Such a law would be retarded.

What I plan to post pictures of here in this thread: 600 syringes from the exchange, cookers, cottons, sterile water 5mL tubes (given out at exchange), band aids, triple antibiotic ointment, condoms, lube, whatever else the exchange is giving out.

Also, I have whatman 0.2 micron filters, 30mL bacteriostatic water, 20CC syringe only terumo luer lock, and a media bottle. Finally to top it off I have 18G monoject needle tips.

I'll be posting a few things from these images and a few stories I'll post later on.

 

[Captain.Heroin]

I think you get a card to carry around from the exchange saying it's legal for you to be carrying them.

Im not positive on that tho cuz ive never been to one.. but ive heard of people getting needle exchange cards of some kind.

I have my get outta jail free card - the Needle Exchange Program card.

NSFW:

It shall not be unlawful for any person who is participating in the Program to possess, or for any person, to deliver any hypodermic syringe or needle distributed as part of the Program.

In my home state you can purchase needles over the counter legally. You should be able to but many pharmacies don't do such things. However, seemingly driving around with 600 (clean, unused) syringes in the back of your car is legal here.

 

[Oxymorphone]

hmm well i know you can only buy 10 at a time here.

So you got your microns? How are they? I need to get some extra cash to buy microns and some 10cc needles plus vials and media bottles. where did you order from? I found some good deals on ebay....

Can you do a side by side test of filtering a solution through a 1CC syringe packed with cotton to the 50ml line vs filtering the same solution though a micron? I'm just curious how much better it is and if there is a difference noticeable to the naked eye. A .2 micron won't take out color (like orange in suboxone) will it?

 

[Carsick]

In the UK there are two types of exchange. Some pharmacies let you drop off a sinbin and collect a new bag of needles (they'll give you a bag without a bin, but if you do that alot they will say something)
There are also dedicated exchanges which offer help and advice as well as paraphenalia. They'll happily give you stuff without bring needles in but only the first few times. They'll give you what you ask for in terms of quantity (within reason) and don't count what you return, since it's in a sealed container.
In the city I'm in, both are open office hours everyday except Sundays and there is also a mobile service which is in a different location every evening.

 

[thelung]

At the Exchange here you can exchange however many you have, there's no limit. And the one by UW will give you however many you ask for, without even exchanging any. You can also get on MMT for free through the needle exchange, as well as clean water, cookers, cotton, and all that stuff. Pretty nice little setup they have going, definitely a positive HR resource.

 

[NY Villager]

Narcan class is wednesday at 12.

You live in the city? thats chill

301 West 37th Street
New York, NY 10018-4211
(212) 465-8304

when you register you get 10 needles, and 10 needles for everyvisit+however many dirty needles you bring back you get a clean one in return so you could get 10 and if you had 7 dirty needles you would get 17.

btw what kinda bags u getting these days?


oh and no micron filters, infact I have called up every needle exchange in the city looking for them, but sadly none do.


Tomorrow its open 1pm to 9pm

Thanks for the info! I'm in the city, too! West Village...I'll start going there...it's better than catching an attitude at CVS!
Re: Stamp bags...very small, dope cooks up amber and is only so-so...you?

 

[NY Villager]

hmm well i know you can only buy 10 at a time here.

So you got your microns? How are they? I need to get some extra cash to buy microns and some 10cc needles plus vials and media bottles. where did you order from? I found some good deals on ebay....

Can you do a side by side test of filtering a solution through a 1CC syringe packed with cotton to the 50ml line vs filtering the same solution though a micron? I'm just curious how much better it is and if there is a difference noticeable to the naked eye. A .2 micron won't take out color (like orange in suboxone) will it?

Oxy- got your message, but I don't have message status yet...so can't help!

 

[Jabberwocky]

Now when you go to an exchange how many needles will they give you if you don't bring any? Is there generally a limit? What about if ou are bringing needles to exchange, if you bring 100 will thye give you 100? In general what types of needles do they give out and how are they?

at the hospital in our town they supply 27g Terumo 1cc insulin sharps, bagged in 10packs with swabs, filters and a sin bin (disposable box). the most ive ever got at one time is 100, im pretty sure they limit you on that many at any one given time anyway - we dont have to bring them any used needles in to receive them though. saying that there is a biohazard bin situated at the hospital where you can dispose of your sharps after youve used them.

just recently though they gave me a 100ct box of 3 & 5mL barrels. initially she was only going to give me like 25 but said take the full boxes, itll save me the extra trips. i gladly obliged they also gave me a box of 26g tips for the barrel. its a big gauge i know, but ive got good technique and only use them once a day when i do use them. its a lot healthier and safer for my veins to cop one 26g hole than 3 or 4, 31g sharps

I know the also give out other stuff like sterile water, tourniquets, mixing containers, cotton, sometimes condoms. Do they supply anything else? i wish they gave at micron filters, that would be sweet (someone posted that their exchange did, I doubt any in the US do). %)

I ask this because the only time I see it worth going to the exchange would be to drop off like 50 needles and get 50 more. I heard a guy in rehab telling me he worked at an exchange where they gave a guy boxes of 100 needles a day, I don't know if that's true or what the story was.

what they supply will differ from exchange to exchange. it can be pretty dependent on what type of funding they receive as well.

its probably true that guy used to go in and get 100 box of sharps day after day. ive known some junkies who would sell sharps to other users so theyd be a regular at the exchange.

So what are your exchange experiences?

i love the exchange centre in my town, not a complaint at all. theyve recently installed an all hours sharps dispenser (coin operated) outside the A&E area

 

[Captain.Heroin]

hmm well i know you can only buy 10 at a time here.

So you got your microns? How are they? I need to get some extra cash to buy microns and some 10cc needles plus vials and media bottles. where did you order from? I found some good deals on ebay....

Can you do a side by side test of filtering a solution through a 1CC syringe packed with cotton to the 50ml line vs filtering the same solution though a micron? I'm just curious how much better it is and if there is a difference noticeable to the naked eye. A .2 micron won't take out color (like orange in suboxone) will it?

It looks essentially the same. It's just ever so slightly clearer. Suboxone is pretty much already a clear solution for me.

I'm enjoying the micron filtering though, it's pretty easy to use and it's fun too. Hehe.

And no the 0.2 won't take out the orange, no.

its a lot healthier and safer for my veins to cop one 26g hole than 3 or 4, 31g sharps

I don't really think so IMO. I get some nasty track marks from a 27G if I don't hit it just right, and even then my vein takes longer to heal. Using a 31G several times in a day doesn't mess me up at all. That's just me however. I can understand it'll vary per individual.

I wish my exchange didn't limit us to 300 needles per person. I can be bringing in more each time, etc.

Plus I wish my exchange *always* had 31g's. They don't always but most of the time they do.

 

[shoolameet]

This is a thread from a little while ago that was posted by FrostyMcFailure.
It has some pretty good pics of stuff from the Newark, NJ needle exchange.

Heroin addicts! Trip to the Needle Exchange program (Newark NJ)