Despite recommendations from public health and corrections officials, a Canadian parliamentary committee has rejected needle exchange programs in the nation’s prisons, The Globe and Mail reports. HIV is 10 times more prevalent in Canadian prisons than in the general population, and hepatitis C is 30 times more prevalent. Feedback to the committee from corrections officers, counselors and inmates was mixed, with one officer warning that inmates could use needles as weapons. The Correctional Service of Canada does provide prisoners with other harm-minimization tools, such as condoms, dental dams, methadone treatment and bleach for contraband needles.

To read the Globe and Mail article, click here.