Clean Needles Save Lives

After two decades, the U.S. Congress has voted to lift a ban on federal funding of needle exchange programs in December. This historic decision signals a new area for harm reduction in the United States – our new movie shows why and how needle exchange programs protect communities from the unintended harms caused by drug use and drug policies. The New York-based Harm Reduction Coalition (HRC) is a longtime ally of the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union: we always admired the courage and creativity of these folks to speak up for harm reduction in a country that declared a war on drug users. This movie is a result of our cooperation. Most of the interviews were filmed in Albuquerque, at the International Drug Policy Reform Conference, while the footage from the NYC Lower Eastside Harm Reduction Center were filmed by Matt Curtis, a tireless harm reduction advocate.