Sharps containers and public places specially Universities and Colleges

To the previous poster:

I think the main reason they don't have containers for that type of stuff is because when people use it genuinely, it's great - but there are weirdos out there who would empty out a concentrated collection of needles (of all kinds) and use them for some harmful reason...because it would attract needles of all sorts.

I recommend carrying around a container if that's the method you currently use. 

Cherise,

I agree that there should be sharps containers in public places.  The first time I saw ANY was in the Cleveland Airport-I was amazed and impressed that they were so progressive in their thinking.

Patty

I honestly think the public sharps containers are a relatively new and progressive develoment, and that we will see more and more of them as time goes on.

The two reasons we often do not see them (because they aren't there) are that the general public associates "needle use" with "illicit drug use" and is concerned about drug paraphernalia laws and "aiding and abetting" illicit drug use, and that it does not perceive true medical use of needles, lancets, and other sharps as being of import to more than a fraction of a percent of the population -- those being not diabetics/PWD, but HIV/AIDS patients, who are still often considered "to have brought it on themselves" and therefore lie beneath contempt, much less compassion.

As the percentage of the population with diabetes grows, and the population of those with severe allergic reactions (requiring constant availability of epi pens), the need for safe sharps disposal in public will increase; the demand for these facilities, and the preferential use of venues with these facilities by persons with those needs, will provide the necessary social and economic pressure for safe, public sharps-disposal facilities to be made increasingly available.