NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City-funded guidebook for heroin users offers information on how to prepare drugs carefully and care for veins to avoid infection.

The state's top official with the Drug Enforcement Administration calls the "Take Charge Take Care" guide a "step-by-step instruction on how to inject a poison." DEA special agent-in-charge John Gilbride says the handout is disturbing.

The city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene printed about 70,000 copies.

A health official says the goal is to promote health and save lives. Assistant Commissioner Daliah Heller says instructions on how to perform injections were included because there's "a less harmful way to inject."

The illustrated guidebook offers information on HIV testing and the dangers of sharing needles.

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On the Net:

Take Charge Take Care: http://tinyurl.com/yc29qnh

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Information from: New York Post, http://www.nypost.com

What began as a desperate hunt for Shannan Gilbert in the marshes near Gilgo Beach became, in three astonishing days in December 2010, the unmasking of a possible serial killer. NewsdayTV's Doug Geed has more.  Credit: Newsday/A. J. Singh; File Footage; Photo Credit: SCPD

'We had absolutely no idea what happened to her' What began as a desperate hunt for Shannan Gilbert in the marshes near Gilgo Beach became, in three astonishing days in December 2010, the unmasking of a possible serial killer. NewsdayTV's Doug Geed has more.

What began as a desperate hunt for Shannan Gilbert in the marshes near Gilgo Beach became, in three astonishing days in December 2010, the unmasking of a possible serial killer. NewsdayTV's Doug Geed has more.  Credit: Newsday/A. J. Singh; File Footage; Photo Credit: SCPD

'We had absolutely no idea what happened to her' What began as a desperate hunt for Shannan Gilbert in the marshes near Gilgo Beach became, in three astonishing days in December 2010, the unmasking of a possible serial killer. NewsdayTV's Doug Geed has more.

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