Injection Drug Use in India

In India, the price of heroin is less of a cost to drug users than the price of syringes, whereas in more developed parts of the world the price of heroin is always the more constraining factor in a drug user’s dose cycle. As a matter of public health, some communities teach drug users safe injecting practice in order to save scarce funds from being used to treat problems related to incorrect drug use. For example, abscesses can occur if a drug user injects heroin in a certain way. If the heroin user is taught to inject his illegal drugs in another way, then an abscess will not occur. It takes very little money to pay someone teach a drug user to inject in the safe way, but it takes a doctor and a team of medical assistants to treat an abscess, and often their pay comes from public funds which entitle anyone without money to receive emergency medical care, regardless of what caused their problem.

In almost every country, when an injured person goes to a doctor for care, the standard medical practice is for the doctor to save the person?s health without judgment. Few people argue against this. At the same time, it is a special burden to public health when one societal problem (abuse of drugs) causes another (increased medical expenses). At the same time, few people support using public funding to teach people how to break the law safely. Few people want their tax dollars to go to making drug use easier, and they would rather that the government say that all drug use is wrong.

There is a financial problem with that also, though. To put people through counseling programs to get them to quit using drugs is extremely expensive, usually more expensive even than paying their increased medical bills. From a public benefit standpoint, some organizations support the idea not condoning the use of drugs, but for the people who must use them anyway, those people should use them in such a way that minimizes the burden on society.

Sanjeevani Booti teaches people safe injection practice. We do not condone drug abuse, and we condemn it, but there is not enough money in the world for us to put together programs to remove drug abuse from society. We do what we can with what resources we have, so we teach people about diseases, especially HIV and hepatitis C, and how to prevent abscesses. We work with the Varanasi Needle Exchange. We provide a safe place for injection drug users to ask questions and get help taking care of their bodies, because drug users have expectations and desires to maintain good health just like everyone else.