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the first NEP was established in Amsterdam, the Netherlands by a drug users advocacy group called the Junkie Union
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The first person to distribute drug injection equipment publicly in the US was Jon Parker, in New Haven, CT and Boston, MA.
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The first US NEP to provide comprehensive services was established in Tacoma, WA.
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Republican Senator Jesse Helms sponsored a ban on using federal funds for needle exchange programs.
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Connecticut became the first state to deregulate and allow over-the-counter purchase of syringes at pharmacies.
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There are at least 37 NEPs operating in 30 US cities.
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The Clinton administration agreed that NEPs do not encourage drug use and help stop the spread of HIV yet refused to lift the ban on funding in 1998.
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The George.W.Bush administration did not discuss NEP and instead emphasized other methods of prevention such as the use of condoms and abstinence-only education.
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the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that there were nearly 200 NEPs in more than 36 states.
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Obama made statement in his campaign in support of needle exchange as a proven means of reducing transmission of AIDS and other diseases among drug users.
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the bill of the Community AIDS and Hepatitis Prevention (CAHP) Act of 2009 introduced
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Obama decided to continue the federal needle exchange ban in the President’s Budget
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Congress has voted to lift a ban on federal funding of needle exchange programs.
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NPR newsthe fiscal year 2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act lifting the ban on federal funding passed the House by a vote of 221 to 202.
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There are 221 NEPs in 33 states and DC.