Congress effectively lifted the nation’s long-standing ban on federal funding for needle exchange programs, which allow intravenous drug addicts to trade dirty syringes for clean ones in the hope of preventing disease.

The measure was quietly tucked into the omnibus spending package signed by President Obama last month. Though federal funds still can’t be used for the syringes themselves, they can go toward the costlier expenses associated with these programs, such as staff, vans, substance use counseling, referral to treatment and outreach in at-risk communities.

Read more at: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2016/01/07/funding-ban-needle-...