Amid rising HIV rates and an entrenched needle culture, London researchers will unveil Wednesday a study on the value of a supervised injection site in the city. Researchers interviewed 200 people who are or were injection drug users to assess people's willingness to use the sites and about 20 representatives from health care, law enforcement, government and community organizations to get feedback. "There are several general recommendations based on the results of the study," but no specific direction to any agency or organization, Western University researcher Ayden Scheim said Monday. [continues 377 words]
The overdose crisis, especially in British Columbia, has become an issue of moral panic, and everyone is paying attention. The B.C. Coroner's Report for 2016 revealed a shocking number of deaths from overdose - 914, which far surpassed previous records and is nearly three times the number of deaths from automobile collisions. This crisis impacts us all and it requires a radical shift in the ways all provinces provide health care. Unfortunately, the human and financial toll continues to rise because we continue to view illicit substance use as a moral and criminal issue rather than the healthcare issue it is. As a health-care social worker on the front line, I am lending my voice to those with substance-use disorders, the ostracized and overlooked. [continues 555 words]
Editor, The News: I firmly agree with Larry Campbell's statement that "crime rates drop and addicts become more stable when [they receive] heroin from a doctor instead of a dealer or pimp" (Campbell, Boyd, & Culbert, 2009, p. 127). Dr. Martin Schechter of the University of British Columbia, provided Vancouver addicts with the first opportunity to receive medical-grade heroin administered by a doctor after he brought NAOMI (North American Opiate Medication Initiative) to life. He demonstrated that once people were stabilized by these treatments, they were "very orderly" (Campbell et al., 2009, p. 229). [continues 662 words]
The tide is turning on harm reduction. The reins of a new national drug strategy are squarely in the hands of Health Canada. There are positive signs legislators are abandoning ideology for evidence-based policy, and stonewalling for action. Last year, the opioid crisis claimed 916 lives in B.C. alone. The momentum for supervised injection sites builds on other initiatives, including methadone treatment and a growing network of needle-exchange programs, officially around since 1989. Harm reduction measures help decrease health risks for drug users at all stages of addiction and recovery. Measurable outcomes include reduced transmission of HIV and hepatitis C through needle sharing, fewer overdose deaths and greater access to addiction recovery supports. [continues 454 words]
When Ottawa recently announced a multi-pronged strategy to fight the deadly fentanyl crisis - a strategy that includes supervised drug consumption sites - Health Minister Jane Philpott boasted of "our renewed, evidence-based approach to Canada's drug strategy." If Ottawa is so keen on an evidence-based approach to drugs, why did it walk away from mediation aimed at settling a lawsuit calling on the government to provide needle exchanges in prisons? Mediation sessions were scheduled this week but Ottawa's lawyers backed out at the last minute. The lawsuit, brought in part by a former inmate who acquired hepatitis C behind bars, is going forward. [continues 348 words]
Like most of small town America, Southern Indiana was unprepared for the opioid crisis. That's what Sam Quinones said, who is an expert on the roots of America's heroin and prescription drug crisis. "It's bad all over the country, but I would say it's probably particularly unkempt in areas such as Southern Indiana," he said. Smaller towns "never had to deal with the issues that come along with opiate addiction like how hard it is to kick, all the ancillary effects of having an addict in the family, aE& the lying, the destruction of family savings." [continues 820 words]
One woman relied on old needles used by her friend's diabetic husband. Another settled for whatever syringes she could find. But for the first time since they started using drugs several years ago, both women have access to fresh syringes. They are getting them through a needle exchange in Frankfort. "If you can have a new one every time, why wouldn't you?" asked the younger of the two women, who both spoke to the CJ on condition of anonymity for fear of being stigmatized or getting fired. "I think it's awesome that they're doing this. [continues 1730 words]
Poll reveals few in Saskatoon back plan lauded by advocates Jason Mercredi and other addictions workers who deal with the effects of unsupervised drug use say a safe injection site would bring many benefits to Saskatoon. A facility where users can inject drugs safely would not only reduce the risk of overdoses, but cut the province's "unprecedented" HIV rate and reduce the burden on the provincial health-care system, AIDS Saskatoon's interim executive director said. "The reality is we need to adopt best practice, and B.C. has shown that best practice is a safe consumption site," Mercredi said, referring to the two precedent-setting safe injection clinics in Vancouver. [continues 557 words]
Helping addicts heal is noble, but let's not ignore safety concerns From the look of things, Ottawa is going to get a supervised-injection site whether we like it or not. With a supportive federal government planning legislation to speed up the process for injection sites and the Ontario government backing a Sandy Hill proposal - in spite of the objections of Mayor Jim Watson and police Chief Charles Bordeleau - the die is cast. A supervised-injection site may, or may not, be what the city needs, but we should not let the federal and provincial governments drive the issue. The city's medical officer of health, Dr. Isra Levy, once noted that Ottawa may actually need more than one site, and if this is where we are headed, we owe ourselves a full debate on the merits and potential risks associated with such a controversial project. [continues 538 words]
