Pharmacy Access to Sterile Syringes for Injection Drug Users: Attitudes of Participants in a Syringe Exchange Program

Abstract Objective To examine attitudes of participants of a van-based syringe exchange program (SEP) toward the hypothetical prospect of pharmacy-based syringe access. Design One-time, cross-sectional survey. Setting Baltimore, Maryland. Participants 206 injection drug users who participate in the Baltimore SEP. Interventions Face-to-face interviews. Main Outcome Measures Location preferred for obtaining syringes, drug and syringe use, past experience with pharmacies, and willingness to pay. Results The sample was 67% men, 95% African American, and 95% unemployed; mean age was 39.8 years. A total of 19% of respondents had bought syringes at a pharmacy during the prior six months. Some 37% reported having been turned down when asking for syringes at a pharmacy, most commonly due to lack of identification to prove diabetic status (50%). If legal restrictions were lifted, 92% of respondents would obtain syringes from pharmacies, and would be willing to pay a mean price of $0.80 (median = $1.00) per syringe. Women were more likely than men to report the intention to switch from van-based SEP to pharmacy (57% versus 38%, p = .045). Conclusion If current legal restrictions were lifted, pharmacies would be a viable syringe source appealing particularly to women, suggesting gender-specific access issues that should be addressed. The per-syringe price that study participants would be willing to pay exceeds typical retail prices, suggesting that pharmacists could charge enough per syringe to recoup operational costs.