TY - JOUR
T1 - Public citizens, marginalized communities
T2 - The struggle for syringe exchange in Springfield, Massachusetts
AU - Shaw, Susan J.
N1 - Funding Information:
The research described in this paper was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, grant # R03DA16532 and by R01 DA 12569 (PI: Merrill Singer). An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology, 4 March 2002, Atlanta, Georgia. I am grateful to Elizabeth Garland, Amy Stamm, and the anonymous reviewers for this journal for their careful reading and helpful comments on drafts of this paper. I appreciate the able research assistance provided by Juhem Navarro and Adminda Scott. My especial thanks go to all participants in the Springfield needle exchange debate who shared with me their stories.
PY - 2006/1
Y1 - 2006/1
N2 - Syringe exchange programs, which, in order to prevent HIV infections, provide injection drug users with sterile syringes in exchange for used ones, operate at the intersection of conflicting social and political beliefs about disease, drugs, the common good, and the law. This paper describes community opposition that emerged from diverse quarters in response to a proposed syringe exchange program (SEP) in Springfield, Massachusetts. White suburban residents and inner-city African-Americans both drew on concepts of personal responsibility and self-sufficiency as they described their opposition to SEP. Through archival research and in-depth interviews with key community figures, I show how their similar political positions resulted from highly divergent views on the role of government in caring for citizens and communities. These arguments about addiction, HIV, and community both index and turn on the unique relationships with government experienced by a range of social actors.
AB - Syringe exchange programs, which, in order to prevent HIV infections, provide injection drug users with sterile syringes in exchange for used ones, operate at the intersection of conflicting social and political beliefs about disease, drugs, the common good, and the law. This paper describes community opposition that emerged from diverse quarters in response to a proposed syringe exchange program (SEP) in Springfield, Massachusetts. White suburban residents and inner-city African-Americans both drew on concepts of personal responsibility and self-sufficiency as they described their opposition to SEP. Through archival research and in-depth interviews with key community figures, I show how their similar political positions resulted from highly divergent views on the role of government in caring for citizens and communities. These arguments about addiction, HIV, and community both index and turn on the unique relationships with government experienced by a range of social actors.
KW - HIV/AIDS
KW - Neoliberalism
KW - Syringe exchange
KW - Urban health
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U2 - 10.1080/01459740500488510
DO - 10.1080/01459740500488510
M3 - Review article
C2 - 16546832
AN - SCOPUS:31644433385
SN - 0145-9740
VL - 25
SP - 31
EP - 63
JO - Medical Anthropology: Cross Cultural Studies in Health and Illness
JF - Medical Anthropology: Cross Cultural Studies in Health and Illness
IS - 1
ER -