ABSTRACT: On 15 May 1991, the European Parliament approved, by an overwhelming majority, a plan of action to reduce AIDS victims amongst drug addicts. The plan was proposed as an amendment to the "Europe against AIDS 1991-93" programme by Marco Taradash, a member of the European Parliament elected on the Anti-Prohibitionist list, a member of the Radical Party, and rapporteur for the Cultural Commission.

(The Party New, n.2, July 1991)

The text of the amendment approved by the European Parliament:

"The programme to use mobile units to distribute disposable sterile hypodermic syringes in exchange for used syringes, a practice recommended by the WHO which has already been carried out in certain European cities for a number of years, constitutes an effective means of prevention, and of giving information, furthering education and creating social and health services capable of helping drug addicts to rehabilitate and reintegrate into society.

By curing drug addiction with substitute products, such as methadone taken orally, we would also be able to avoid the HIV virus being transmitted by infected hypodermicsyringes. It would, therefore, be opportune to evaluate and seriously consider this as a possible form of treatment.

As well as imposing quality control on condoms manufactured in EEC countries, it is necessary to ensure that they are, above all, available to homosexuals, prostitutes and prison inmates, as well as to the public via permanently installed automatic dispensers. The necessary information should also be distributed as the use of condoms is, at present, the only effective way of preventing the HIV virus from being transmitted sexually, apart from a radical change in sexual habits."