This report examines the issue of prison needle exchange based upon the international experience and evidence current to April 2006. The authors undertook a literature review, visited prisons in four countries, and corresponded with people responsible for administering prison needle exchange programs.
The report provides a comprehensive review of the evidentiary and legal basis for prison needle exchange programs. The goal of this report is to encourage prison systems with HIV and HCV epidemics driven by injection drug use to implement needle exchange programs.