Tulsi Gabbard on Syringe Access

When asked by a listener in a radio interview with New Hampshire Public Radio how Gabbard felt about needle exchange programs and safe consumption spaces, Gabbard answered, “I think that these programs, and I’ve heard a lot about kind of the Hub and Spoke program here in New Hampshire that are being implemented at the local level, do so much towards helping people find that safe space to begin that tough path towards recovery, towards ending that addiction. I want to bring up one thing that I think the state legislature here [New Hampshire] has passed, I think through the House [of Representatives], and that that is marijuana. I’ve introduced legislation at the federal level to end the federal marijuana prohibition for a whole host of reasons, but one of which is how we’ve seen a direct correlation in states that have either passed medical marijuana or completely decriminalized marijuana. We’ve seen that correlation in a drop in opioid addiction and also a correlating drop in opioid related deaths. So I think there’s a number of different avenues that we need to pursue to address this opioid crisis. Not a single one of them alone will be effective in doing so, but we have to treat it like the crisis that it is both in accountability and prosecution for those responsible for proliferating these drugs, and recovery and treatment and help for those who are suffering at the brunt of this crisis.” NHPR host Peter Biello followed up by asking for a clear yes or no on whether needle exchanges are a “good idea.” Gabbard responded, “Yes.”