Pubdate: Tue, 06 Feb 2007
Source: McGill Tribune (CN QU Edu)
Copyright: 2007 The McGill Tribune
Contact:  http://www.mcgilltribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2672
Author: Emily Barca
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hr.htm (Harm Reduction)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?137 (Needle Exchange)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

HARM REDUCTION CENTRE GETS ITS FIX BY PREVENTING PAIN

With Full Status, Group Promotes Drug Safety

Conceived at the beginning of the year, the Students' Society's Harm 
Reduction Centre aimed to ensure the safe use of drugs and alcohol 
among students. Named an official SSMU service in November 2006, the 
centre is now aiming to promote more awareness of its budding 
services by spreading word-of-mouth and maintaining regular office hours.

Although originally conceived as a club, SSMU Vice-President Clubs 
and Services Floh Herra-Vega decided that the HRC should be developed 
into a service.

Over the summer, it was given "interim status," a designation not 
typical of the process for establishing new groups.

"Interim status doesn't actually exist, but we didn't feel it was 
fair to create a new service without Council during the summer. We 
didn't want to make that decision on our own," Herra-Vega said.

Herra-Vega said that while she is involved with the centre, she is 
not in charge of its daily responsibilities.

"I communicate closely with them and I meet with someone who is 
involved with running them once a week, but I don't run the day to 
day stuff," Herra-Vega said.

The ones who do run the show are organizers Eric Rumi and Mahmud Naqi 
who began to develop the concept of the centre last April when they 
felt the need for more accessible information on drug use for students.

"Education about drugs usually comes from on high, from teachers, 
professors and public health officers. There's a distance between the 
average user and the public health officer," Naqi said.

The possibility of setting up a phone line and a peer-to-peer 
counseling service are being explored.

Located on the fourth floor of the Shatner building, the HRC is also 
planning to host a conference in March, where discussion will center 
on alternative drug policies and development of a Canadian branch of 
Students for a Sensible Drug Policy.

During the fall semester, the HRC focused on making contacts with 
other groups involved in harm reduction.

"There's a lot happening in Montreal at the moment," said Ariana 
Carella, an HRC member. "We're networking with other people working 
in this area like the Cactus Centre needle exchange."

In order to spark a dialogue, the HRC hosted a panel discussion 
during which Dr. Pierre-Paul Tellier, director of student affairs in 
the faculty of medicine, spoke about the Black and Blue Festival, 
which promotes safe drug use among its participants.

During frosh, the centre distributed a guide to safe drug use to 
freshmen. A more comprehensive guide, compiled from textbooks, online 
resources and drug user testimonials, has been made available to 
other services at McGill, including Queerline.

"It contains information on ways to safely use drugs, tips on how to 
react if something goes wrong and on how to keep yourself grounded if 
you're involved in these types of activities," Carella said.

Herra-Vega said that she would like to see the HRC cooperate with other groups.

"I'd like to see them collaborate with the other safety services in 
this building, which is already starting to happen."

Both Carella and Naqi have found a positive reaction to the HRC 
within most of the McGill community. However, Carella admits that 
there's still some reluctance for people to admit that there are 
drugs at McGill.

"A lot of the students, if not supportive, are very accepting," Naqi 
said. "They recognize that if someone is going to do something 
harmful we should reduce their pain."
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman