Pubdate: Wed, 02 Mar 2016
Source: Powell River Peak (CN BC)
Copyright: 2016 Peak Publishing Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.prpeak.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/734
Author: Jason Schreurs

SAFE DRUG USE

A recent death of a young man in Powell River due to an overdose that
Powell River RCMP suspect involved fentanyl was a tragic reminder that
the area has a desperate need for more harm-reduction programs.

Powell River Community Health has been forward thinking in providing a
long-running needle-exchange program that supplies intravenous drug
users with clean syringes and a host of other crucial resources and
services.

The needle exchange is part of a province-wide harm-reduction program
and has been run out of Powell River General Hospital for the past 20
years.

But a comprehensive needle-exchange program isn't enough anymore,
especially with confirmation from Powell River RCMP that fentanyl is
in the community's drug supply. How many more people need to die in
smaller cities such as Powell River before Vancouver Coastal Health
(VCH) takes appropriate steps?

Communities such as Powell River need safe-injection
sites.

A controversial project in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, the Insite
program is a supervised injection site that has been open since 2003.
Since that time, the number of deaths due to overdose from intravenous
drug injections in the area has been reduced significantly.

Run by VCH, the safe-injection site is a health-focused centre in
which drug users can inject themselves under supervision of
health-care workers and have immediate access to health care services,
including primary care for disease and infection, counselling,
treatment and other community support programs.

Some people mistakenly assume that access to programs such as
safe-injection sites will increase drug use in a community. The
opposite is true.

Researchers from North America and Europe have found that Insite has
not perpetuated drug use in the Downtown Eastside. In fact, it has
saved lives, reduced transmission of disease and increased the number
of drug users entering addiction treatment.

The idea that a safe-injection site would somehow promote or encourage
intravenous drug use in smaller communities such as Powell River is
ridiculous. This is a service for those already shooting drugs who
need help.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Matt