The extra mile makes all the difference

I live in one county, but work in another. I usually pick up clean works in my hometown, from two or three different chemists, but recently I had cause to go and get some pins in the city I work in. I was amazed at the difference.

I would have thought that a needle exchange was a needle exchange was a needle exchange, but apparently not. In my hometown you ask for everything you need, as you need it, and it's provided for you in individually sealed, single use, sterile, packages. I get pins, vit c sachets, sterile 2ml water bottles, alcohol wipes, and a spoon with filter. Everything the healthy heroin user needs to remain that way.

In the city I work in, things are different. You ask for works, you get a nice grey resealable bag, a leaflet explaining briefly about safe injecting, ten pins, some swabs, and a sharps bin. No vit c, no water, no spoons, no filters. In short, absolutely the minimum possible. From my limited experience in London, I believe that it's the same there.

There's a huge difference in the two services; my hometown gives everything you need to be healthy without having to mess about trying to get vit c, spoons, filters, and all the rest of it. It makes life really quick, and really easy.

I doubt it costs a massive amount more than just giving the minimum, but providing everything we need to be healthy makes a big difference to me (and other users). Sure, it makes life simpler, and the time from picking up works to getting a hit is minimised (and I won't play down the importance of that), but in addition to that, it makes me feel as though I'm human.

I know it's a bit of a hobby-horse of mine, but I get really pissed off by people looking down at me, as though I'm some sort of lowlife because I use gear. The fact that my local council values users' health enough to provide sterile equipment really impresses me, and almost makes my council tax worth paying.