1. What do Syringe Services Programs (SSPs)
mean for Minnesota?
Why Minnesota?
Minnesota’s early efforts have set an example for the rest of the nation. Its total number of AIDS cases
attributable to injecting drug use is among the lowest in the nation at 10.2% (compared to 25%
nationally).
1
History of Syringe Services in Minnesota
 Syringe services programs have been in operation in the state since 1995.
2
 In 1997, as part of a comprehensive HIV prevention bill, the Minnesota legislature changed its
laws to allow pharmacies to sell up to 10 syringes without a prescription.
3
 In 1999, the World AIDS Day Report Card from Lambda Legal gave the Minnesota Department of
Public Health and the Minnesota AIDS Project an “A” in prevention, saying, “Their partnership
created a model syringe access and disposal plan.”
4
Minnesota was the only state in the country
to receive such recognition.
 In 2009, the most prominent SSP in Minnesota closed its doors due to gaps in funding.
5
 In 2012, there are five programs serving Minneapolis and International Falls.
6
Federal dollars went to SSPs in Minnesota
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2010 funds:* $80,000
*The state had planned to use $80,000 of 2012 CDC funds for programming this year but could not after
the reinstatement of the ban.
Nationwide, faith communities support SSPs
The Episcopal Church, The Presbyterian Church of the United States, the United Church of Christ, the
Unitarian Universalist Association, The Society of Christian Ethics, the Union for Reform Judaism and the
Central Conference of American Rabbis have all issued formal statements supporting SSPs.
Syringe Services Saves Money and Lives
Minnesota’s relatively small investment in syringe services funding can have huge returns. Studies have
shown that every $1 invested in syringe services programs results in $3-7 in savings.
7
Thus, we
can estimate that over time, an $80,000 FY12 CDC investment would have resulted in up to
$560,000 in savings.
1
Minnesota: Estimated Numbers of AIDS Diagnoses Among Adults and Adolescents, by Transmission Category, Cumulative
through 2010. Available at: http://www.statehealthfacts.org/profileind.jsp?rgn=25&cat=11&ind=845
2
Syringe Exchange. Minnesota AIDS Project. Available at: http://www.mnaidsproject.org/services/prevention-testing/syringe-
exchange.php
3
State and Local Policies Regarding IDU’s Access to Sterile Syringes, December 2005. CDC. Available at:
http://www.cdc.gov/idu/facts/AED_IDU_POL.pdf
4
Lambda Legal. Available online at http://www.lambdalegal.org/news/ny_19991201_lambda-issues-1999-aids-day-report-card.
5
State’s only needle-exchange program shuttered by economy, anti-drug policies. The Minnesota Independent, August 3, 2009.
Available at: http://minnesotaindependent.com/40740/states-only-needle-exchange-program-shuttered-by-economy-anti-drug-
policies
6
Minnesota. Sterile Syringe Exchange Programs, 2011. Available at:
http://www.statehealthfacts.org/profileind.jsp?rgn=25&ind=566&cat=11; and Syringe Exchange Program Coverage in the United
States, 2012. amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research; NASEN, the North American Syringe Exchange Network; Beth Israel
Medical Center. (In publication.)
7
Nguyen TQ. Increasing investment in syringe exchange is cost-saving HIV prevention: modeling hypothetical syringe coverage
levels in the United States. Nineteenth International AIDS Conference, Washington DC, abstract MOAE0204, 2012.