Pubdate: Thu, 21 Jul 2016
Source: Abbotsford News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2016 Abbotsford News
Contact:  http://www.abbynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1155
Authors: Kelvin Gawley & Jeff Nagel
Page: A1

CALL FOR LOCAL DRUG CONSUMPTION SITES

Fraser Health strategy for overdoses includes supervised facilities

Fraser Health is working to identify priority sites for supervised
drug consumption as part of a broader strategy to contain a surge in
illicit drug overdoses.

At least one of those sites should be in Abbotsford, according to
local advocates.

Surrey is certain to be one of the proposed locations, but health
authority officials aren't yet saying if they will also propose sites
in other drug-troubled downtowns such as Langley City, Maple Ridge and
Abbotsford.

"We're at early stages of identifying priority communities and having
initial conversations, dialogue and engagement with municipalities,"
said Dr. Victoria Lee, Fraser's chief medical health officer.

Health authority officials made the announcement after a sudden surge
in overdoses in the north Surrey area, with 43 recorded over the past
weekend.

Lee said sites will be chosen based on where the most benefit is
possible, using data on overdoses, as well as fatalities from the B.C.
Coroners Service.

Desperate need for site in Abbotsford

Pastor Jesse Wegenast, who coordinates 5 and 2 Ministries'
harm-reduction services, said there is a desperate need for such a
facility in Abbotsford.

Wegenast said he is aware of strong opposition to safe
drug-consumption sites in the community, so named because they serve
not only injection drug users.

He said most people picture a standalone facility like Insite in
Vancouver's Downtown Eastside but he would rather see such services
embedded within existing Fraser Health facilities.

There are a lot of misconceptions about supervised drug-consumptions
sites and it is important to try to change minds about them, said Wegenast.

"A lot of people are under the false impression that people go there
to get free drugs and stuff, which is the furthest thing from the
case," he said. "We need to have everybody buying in and in order to
have public buy-in, everybody needs to know exactly what is being proposed."

Insite is one of only two supervised injection sites in British
Columbia so far.

Vancouver Coastal Health Authority has indicated it will seek up to
five more, while other health authorities are expected to pursue them
in cities such as Victoria, Kelowna and Kamloops.

Federal law restricts facilities

Under the federal Respect For Communities Act passed by the former
Conservative government, proposed consumption sites seeking an
exemption must be backed by extensive documentation, including support
letters from the local municipality and police force.

Some public health officials - notably provincial health officer Dr.
Perry Kendall - have called for the repeal of the federal legislation,
but for now the law stands.

Even more modest harm-reduction strategies have at times been
controversial among Fraser Valley politicians.

Supporters say supervised-use sites greatly reduce fatal overdoses and
the spread of infectious disease among users, while also providing an
avenue to connect those at risk to services that could help transform
their lives.

Opponents believe they have the effect of entrenching drug use in
communities, and they favour a less tolerant approach.

Health Minister Terry Lake supported the push for new supervised sites
after the declaration of a public health emergency this spring as the
number of fatal overdoses climbed.

Fraser Health says its recently approved overdose prevention and
response strategy goes far beyond supervised sites.

"There is no single solution to the public health emergency we are
facing," Lee said. "It is a complex concern that requires a
multi-faceted approach to prevent overdoses, encourage safe
consumption, and provide treatment options."

Overdose crisis can't be ignored

Wegenast said the problem can't be ignored and that doing so "is the
number one way to see things get worse and worse."

He likened the current debate for and against supervised
drug-consumption sites to the one over contraception in years past.

"When the roll-out of contraceptives was a big deal, there was an
evidence-based side and then there was a moralistic side, and I think
that put a lot more people at risk. So we need to get through that and
that's going to take a lot of education," said Wegenast.

Mayor Henry Braun voted to repeal a ban on harm-reduction services in
Abbotsford when he was a councillor in 2014. He said he has not been
approached by Fraser Health on the issue.

The region last fall began increasing the number of take-home naloxone
kits provided to overdose patients who end up in emergency
departments. All 12 emergency departments are now registered to
dispense the antidote kits.

Officials say 857 take-home naloxone kits were dispensed via emergency
department staff, public health units or community partners between
January and May, a 10-fold increase from 2015.

In Abbotsford, these kits are distributed by the Warm
Zone.

Lee said Fraser will also continue region-wide efforts to equip
at-risk populations and their friends and family with naloxone,
including the use of police and fire departments, BC Housing and other
organizations.

Also promised are public-awareness campaigns targeting different types
of drug users and better supports to improve access to opioid
substitution such as suboxone.

There have been 127 overdose deaths in the Fraser Health region in the
first six months of this year.
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