I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
An AIDS service organization in Flint, Wellness AIDS Services, is asking Flint leaders to back a proposal which would allow them to create a needle exchange. The exchange, they argue, will reduce the incidents of intravenous drug user infections with HIV, as well as Hepatitis B and C.
But local leaders are leery of the proposal, reports the Flint Journal.
“I know we’re trying to save lives, but aren’t we also contributing?” asked Councilwoman Jackie Poplar. “Are we making it easier for these people to continue shooting dope?”
Ironically, in cities where needle exchanges have been implemented, including Michigan cities such as Grand Rapids, Detroit and Ann Arbor, the number of IV drug users appears to have declined, along with the number of new HIV infections as a result of IV drug use.
The state of Michigan reports that 10 percent of the HIV cases in Flint are the result of dirty needles.
In order for Wellness to institute the needle exchange the city would have to change a drug paraphernalia law to allow Wellness to create a clean needle exchange program. That program would enroll IV drug users, providing them with a card, which in turn would allow them access to clean needles. Such programs also integrate drug treatment options as part of the exchange program.
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