Pubdate: Wed, 30 Jan 2013
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2013 The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: Andrea Woo

DEBATE OVER HARM REDUCTION SIMMERS IN ABBOTSFORD

A contentious bylaw that forbids harm reduction measures such as
needle exchange programs and supervised injection sites will soon
return to council in British Columbia's "Bible Belt."

The Fraser Health Authority has long called for a harm reduction plan
- - and specifically a needle exchange program - in Abbotsford,
insisting it is urgently needed to protect the area's roughly 500
intravenous drug users and curb the city's relatively high rates of
hepatitis C. Two public forums held on the past two Tuesdays on the
possibility of having a needle exchange program were well attended.

"We have to look at the evidence ... and the evidence is it decreases
the transmission of blood-borne infections like hepatitis C and HIV,"
said Marcus Lem, a medical health officer for Fraser Health who spoke
at this week's forum. "I don't think, at all, it is any sort of
incentive [to do drugs]; it's helping people who are at a vulnerable
point in their lives and are engaged in activities they may not
necessarily want to be doing. How we protect the most vulnerable
portions of our population says a lot about how we are as a society."

He noted that harm reduction strategies are "pretty well accepted
across the Lower Mainland - and around the world." The Pivot Legal
Society has said the bylaw violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

In 2010, Abbotsford had an estimated hepatitis C rate of 64.4 per
100,000 among its non-incarcerated population, according to a harm
reduction service plan prepared by Fraser Health last year. The plan
stated injection drug use "has been identified as a concern for the
city of Abbotsford," although there is little data on its prevalence.

Crowds at the public forums were split on the matter, which is
expected to return to council for a vote on whether to repeal it by
spring.

The eight-year-old bylaw - which also bans medical marijuana
dispensaries - is a controversial issue in the traditionally
conservative Fraser Valley city. Some fear repealing it would condone
illicit drug use; critics say keeping clean needles from intravenous
drug users plays with their lives.

Such a divide was apparent at the public forums.

Council has also been divided on the matter. Councillor Simon Gibson,
for example, supported the bylaw in 2005 and remained confident in his
decision last year, telling The Canadian Press he felt harm reduction
was "largely cosmetic."

"I'm satisfied with the bylaw, because it represents what is in the
best interests of the overall social fabric of Abbotsford," Mr. Gibson
said at the time.

George Peary opposed harm reduction as a councillor, but gradually
came to speak of having an "open mind" on the matter toward the end of
his mayoralty.

Mayor Bruce Banman, who edged out Mr. Peary in the November, 2011,
election with a promise to make Abbotsford more progressive, supports
harm reduction measures - but insists a needle exchange program must
come with a detox plan.

"I would say that they take every single penny that they save [by
preventing blood-borne diseases] and put it into detox and rehab," he
said. "Give me the guarantee that when someone asks, they will get the
help that they need."

He said what that help should look like would be up to the
experts.

But Sherry Mumford, director of mental health and substance use at
Fraser Health, who also presented at Tuesday's forum, pointed to
options such as the Riverstone home/mobile detox and day-tox program
and the Warm Zone drop-in facility for women, saying "absolutely"
enough services are already available. 
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D