Pubdate: Thu, 06 Jul 2017 Source: Packet & Times (CN ON) Copyright: 2017 Orillia Packet and Times Contact: http://www.orilliapacket.com/letters Website: http://www.orilliapacket.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2397 Author: Jay Fallis Page: B5 PERCEPTION OF DRUG USE NEEDS TO CHANGE Following the federal government's announcement that approval for supervised drug-injection sites would be made more obtainable, the Sandy Hill Community Health Centre (SHCHC) in Ottawa became one of the first to submit an application. After receiving confirmation provincial funding would be provided earlier this year, the centre is anxiously awaiting final federal approval. I visited the SHCHC to speak with Rob Boyd. He is a former Orillia resident, and director of the Oasis Program largely responsible for the SHCHC's drug-treatment services. We sat down, in the room where the supervised injection site is planned to be established, to discuss what will be the centre's newest initiative. "Once we have our injection service up and running people will be able to connect with case-management services, they'll be able to go to the drop in afterwards to connect with the staff, and go to the clinic if they have any other health concerns. Or, if the nurse who's in here identifies something that they might want to have checked out, they will immediately be able to connect with the primary care services; they are going to be available right across the hall," Boyd said. When consuming hard drugs on the street, away from medical care, users can put themselves at high risk of overdose and death. By promoting safer drug use on location, emergencies will be less common and handled more swiftly. Additionally, users would be exposed to a host of services that could help to treat their addiction and other medical and socioeconomic problems. It was also clear from our conversation that in order to deal with this problem effectively in Canada, focus needed to be put on managing and decreasing use, not just eliminating it. "Very few people actually achieve abstinence. But, to make that the goal for everybody actually sets people up for failure So, this idea that we have to completely eradicate druguse, it's not even an aspirational goal; it's a delusional goal." Drug use is a reality our society will always face. If we are to deal with drug use in a meaningful way, we need to change our approach to it. "We would start investing resources into some good, evidence-based treatment, good outpatient modalities or support around addictions medicine. We would also stop arresting people and incarcerating people, which adds to their trauma, which doesn't benefit them in terms of stopping their use Through reinvesting that money spent on the courts, on enforcement and on incarceration, into treatment for people, you can improve access (to services)." Boyd also suggested changing our perception of drug use is important. "By saying this is a health issue that people have it enables you to do things, like what Portugal did, through the decriminalization of possession. (We need to) really begin to support people around building their self-esteem, their self-efficacy, and minimizing harm associated with drug use." By changing the way our society looks at drug use, focusing on treatment rather than imprisonment, we can make remarkable strides in alleviating drug-related problems. As Boyd also alluded to, Portugal's experience is proof this approach works. After experiencing a drug crisis in 2001, the country changed its outlook on drug use, from a criminal act to a health problem. Through decriminalization, mass dissemination of safe equipment, the introduction of safe injection sites and the creation of addiction-treatment clinics, Portugal has gone from Europe's worst country for drug-related deaths to its second best. With hard-drug use being a serious problem throughout Canada, perhaps it would be best to follow in the footsteps of Portugal and the SHCHC. By treating drug users not as criminals, but as people who need help, our society can truly address this problem. - ------- Jay Fallis grew up just outside of Orillia and is passionate about Canadian politics. He has a master's in political science from the University of Toronto. He can be reached at com. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt