Pubdate: Tue, 04 Feb 2003 Source: Abbotsford Times (CN BC) Copyright: 2003 The Abbotsford Times Contact: http://www.abbotsfordtimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1009 Author: Christina Toth ABBOTSFORD IS 'IGNORING' ITS ADDICTS Abbotsford city council is trailing behind some nearby jurisdictions when it comes to addressing intravenous drug addicts. Last month, councillors voted to ban further harm reduction measures, such as methadone clinics and needle exchanges for intravenous drug users. The city has one part-time methadone clinic downtown. Dr. Perry Kendall, B.C.'s chief medical officer, said the province supports programs that provide clean needles and methadone treatment for addicts. There is overwhelming scientific evidence gathered from around the world that shows harm reduction strategies save lives and keep control of HIV and hepatitis-C infection rates, he said. "We support prevention, treatment and harm reduction because it reduces illicit drug use. We support needle exchanges because there is a vast body of evidence that show it reduces infection rates of HIV," Kendall said. Abbotsford may be one of 30 councils in the Lower Mainland Municipalities Association that rejects harm reduction strategies. In the LMMA's 2001 regional action plan regarding the misuse of drugs and alcohol, harm reduction is included as one of its goals. "Free-standing methadone clinics are perfectly acceptable. If you get people on methadone they're healthier and more stable and tend not to get HIV and hep-C. It's a cost-effective way of having people in treatment," said Kendall. In response to Abbotsford's stand against harm reduction Kendall said, "They're simply ignoring all the information from respected bodies of medical science from around the world." In more ways than harm reduction strategies pay off, Kendall says. The cost to taxpayers to have an addict on methadone is $5,000 to $6,000 per year. In contrast, an active heroin addict on the street costs society $40,000, while the lifetime costs to treat a person infected with HIV is at least $150,000, he said. Untreated addicts cause far more problems in a community than people who are in treatment, in terms of crime, social problems, intoxicification, illness and hospital costs. "To insist that [addicts] should stop taking methadone, knowing it would be detrimental to them, it is to my mind unethical and immoral," Kendall said. "We see addiction as a chronic relapsing condition. Addiction needs to be seen as an illness, rather than a moral failure," Kendall said. Abstinence is fine, he said, but it has a "very, very high relapse rate" and is effective for about 10 per cent of addicts, so there has to treatment alternatives. - --- MAP posted-by: Alex