University District needle, meth pipe distributor defends drugs as legitimate choice

Everyone has an image of the kind of people who use needle exchange programs: People who are sick, who’ve hit bottom, who are perhaps ashamed of how desperate they’ve become.

But there’s a group of drug users who think of themselves differently, as people who happen to need drugs the way other people might need something like coffee or an energy drink.

This brings us to a program in Seattle’s University District known as the People’s Harm Reduction Alliance.

It started as a needle exchange, but then branched out. Five years ago they started handing out crack pipes, and last month, the program’s director, Shiloh Murphy, decided to start handing out meth pipes.

“People kept coming to us and saying the reason I’m injecting – which you can get HIV and Hepatitis C from injecting – is because they didn’t have access to pipes. Pipes are roughly 50 cents and it’s around 75 cents to 80 cents for a week’s amount of needles, so it’s actually cheaper to give them a pipe,” Murphy told KIRO Radio’s Jason Rantz Show.

But he also said it’s no longer just about stopping the spread of diseases, he’s doing it because his clients requested it.

“We are a drug-user run organization which means the people we serve are our bosses,” said Murphy. “They are our experts and the reason that is, is they are honestly the experts on drug use in Seattle.”

Murphy is an unabashed drug activist. He doesn’t apologize for using, in fact he “came out” four years ago at a needle-exchange conference and said that heroin had “Saved his life.”

But where most needle exchanges are intended to be a temporary stop on the road to sobriety, Murphy said drugs are a legitimate choice, and he has no intention of quitting.

“It’s about meeting people exactly where they are and telling people they should be the best damn drug user they can be and if they want to be sober they should be the best at that they can be,” said Murphy.

He admits drugs are not healthy, and the Harm Reduction Alliance tries to inform users about their options. But he said it also depends on how you use them.

“Drugs don’t have morality and that’s something people really need to understand. They are an inanimate object that can be totally life destroying and also can give you an incredible perspective on life, so use them cautiously and you can enjoy it,” said Murphy.

That’s the kind of talk that annoys Murphy’s peers who think he’s taking tolerance way too far. But he said too many charity organizations forget that the drug is not the person.

“I do think it’s not the best to be addicted and I think it’s probably not healthy for the body to be addicted and I think there is a lot of people who are everyday drug users who carry a lot of trauma and I think that should be dealt with medically and it should be dealt with through therapy,” said Murphy.

“I think so many organizations though make this point you have to be sober to be in this housing or you have to be sober to be part of this organization. And I would say let’s figure out their problems first whether it be emotional, all those things, then let’s worry about the drug use. I’m not saying don’t acknowledge the drug use or try to work on that but I feel like there is bigger issues.”

But even he knows there are clear signs when it’s time to quit.

“Are you coming late to work because of your drug use? Are you not paying bills because of your drug use? Are you having trouble paying rent because you’re spending so much on drugs?” said Murphy. “Those are issues where you may need to look at the negative effects of what drugs have done, because it’s no longer fun, it’s a have to.”