Pubdate: Tue, 30 Oct 2012
Source: Toronto Star (CN ON)
Copyright: 2012 The Toronto Star
Contact:  http://www.thestar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/456
Author: Joe Fiorito

HARM REDUCTION: TORONTO AND BRAZIL

Her office is an afterthought at the end of a narrow hallway in the 
Dalla Lana School of Public Health. Her desk is neat. Her eyes are 
bright. Her intelligence is pleasantly fierce.

Ines Gandolfo is a university professor from Brazil.

She has been here for almost a year Why? Because we practice harm 
reduction here.

Ines said, "Harm reduction is also part of our health policy in 
Brazil. It's implemented in some places, and some places are doing a 
good job, but some people are afraid of this; there is prejudice 
against the practice."

Just like here.

Permit me an aside on the subject at hand: if you cannot stop some 
people from using drugs, you might as well help them stay as healthy 
as possible - i.e., reduce the harm - while they are addicted; if 
that means needle exchanges, safe crack use kits, the supply of 
condoms and many other things, so be it.

Why?

Because those who survive addiction deserve to live in good health 
for the rest of their lives. Because good health eases the cost of 
health care. Because each of us should always be as safe as possible. 
And one last, best reason:

It's the human thing to do.

Okay, so what are the most problematic drugs in Brazil? "We have no 
heroin - well, we have some, but not much - but the drug that is 
spreading is crack cocaine. It's used by the homeless, by people who 
live in the streets, it's used by students, it's used even in the 
countryside among indigenous peoples."

Just like here.

"We know it came to Sao Paulo in the 1980s, but it has spread in the 
past five or 10 years; and Lula, our president, has started a 
campaign against drugs."

Lula, meet Harper.

Ines said, "We're trying not to criminalize the user. We have a 
recent law saying the use of some amount of drugs is not a crime, but 
we still see violence against the user, and some judges are still 
being arbitrary."

Harper, meet Lula.

How big is the crack problem in Brazil? "It is not the most-used drug 
- - the most-used drug is alcohol, and then marijuana - but the health 
problems are big."

What health problems?

"People go to the garbage and pick up cans; they use the cans to make 
a kind of pipe. They put the crack inside and light up, and they hold 
the cans to their faces.

'That causes many problems: animals use the trash, there are mouse 
feces and so on. Another thing - the cans are printed with a kind of 
ink, and the fumes get into people's lungs.

"Also, the quality of the crack - it may be cut with pesticides, and 
with many other things. And, horrible, if you don't pay for your 
drugs you can be killed by the dealer, even for two dollars. Our 
youth are dying. We manage child mortality, but our youth mortality . . ."

We should pay attention.

Here's another problem:

Brazil is hosting several big international events in the near 
future. The cities are being swept clean. "They are making street 
people go into shelters, forcing people into compulsory internment . 
. . it's just jailing people."

Some politicians here would do the same.

But she also said, "There's a beautiful group of peers who go onto 
the streets, talking, educating people about safe practices, trying 
to build bridges between users and services." We do that here, too.

We should do more.

Ines returns home in December. On a personal note: what, apart from 
knowledge, will she bring back with her? She smiled.

"Maple syrup."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom