The city of New York is instituting a plan it believes will reduce needle-sharing—and the incidence of AIDS—among drug addicts. The city will provide free clean hypodermic needles to between 200 and 400 intravenous drug users to be chosen from waiting lists of methadone maintenance clinics.

England and New Zealand already have tried such programs and have found them to be successful in reducing needle-sharing. There has been no rise in the number of addicts as a result of the programs. There are no statistics as of yet indicating whether the increase in AIDS cases has been contained.

The number of addicts infected with AIDS has been increasing at a rate of about 8 percent every year. Much of this increase is attributed to a high rate of needle-sharing among drug users. Theoretically, if every addict has his or her own needle, they won’t use needles belonging to other addicts, and the spread of AIDS will be decreased.

Off hand, it seems morally indefensible to give drug addicts the instrument which feeds their illness. It wouldn’t be such a wonderful idea to have drug users all over the city dying of overdoses taken with needles provided by the city. And there’s always the question of whether such a program encourages people to continue using drugs, rather than seeking the help they need.

But New York seems to have taken all this into account. The free needles are to be used as the “carrot” to lure drug addicts into treatment programs. They can’t just walk in and get a needle and leave again—off to do further damage to their minds and bodies.

Every drug addict who receives the free needles will have to attend a drug treatment session. To exchange it for another new clean needle, the addict must return for another treatment session. The hope is that these individuals will be convinced of the feasibility and desirability of a drug-free life and eventually show up for drug treatment without taking a needle away with them.

New York is taking a lot of chances with this program. The city risks appearing to condone drug use. It risks increasing drug use. And risks finding itself responsible for putting the instrument of death into the hands of 400 people.

But if the program works the way city officials hope it will—encouraging addicts to receive treatment, reducing needle-sharing and the incidence of AIDS—then it will be worth those risks.