Pubdate: Sat, 08 Sep 2007
Source: Sun Times, The (Owen Sound, CN ON)
Copyright: 2007 Osprey Media Group Inc.
Contact:  http://www.owensoundsuntimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1544
Author: Don Crosby

PUBLIC HEALTH STARTING NEEDLE EXCHANGES

Aim Is To Keep Injection Drug Users Healthy

A needle exchange program will start in Walkerton this  fall as part 
of a year-long pilot project that includes  sites in Owen Sound and Hanover.

The medical officer of health told Bruce County  councillors on 
Friday that the project will offer  counselling, testing and clean 
needles in an effort to  keep injection drug users as healthy as possible.

"There are certainly people who use injection drugs  daily and still 
keep a job . . . the goal is to keep  drug users healthy and show 
some interest in their  health," said Dr. Hazel Lynn.

The project will assess the extent of injection drug  use in the area.

Lynn said the supply of clean needles will help stop  the spread of 
blood-borne diseases such as HIV and  hepatitis C. She noted there 
are 65 new cases of deadly  hepatitis C each year in the area, many 
caused by  sharing dirty needles and other drug paraphernalia.

A similar program has been operating out of the Owen  Sound office of 
the public health unit. Final  negotiations are under way to set up 
needle exchange  locations at a drop-in centre in Owen Sound and a 
pharmacy in Hanover.

The pharmacy was chosen partly because drug users are  already 
getting their needles at pharmacies, said Denna  Leach, program 
manager of health promotion for the  health unit. Pharmacies are also 
open later in the  evening than the health unit.

The needle exchange packages will contain information  about where 
users can get help and phone numbers for  referrals.

Grey-Bruce is one of only three public health units  without a needle 
exchange program. Such programs are  mandatory public health programs 
in areas of Ontario  where injection drug use is recognized as a 
problem in  the community.

The year-long study will help determine the extent of  the problem 
and whether a full-time program is needed.

Plans to run the needle exchange program at the  Walkerton offices of 
the public health unit, which are  located in the Bruce County 
administration building, is  a cause for concern for Bruce County 
administration.

Wayne Jamieson, the county's chief administrative  officer, 
questioned whether there was enough security  for needle exchange 
program in a building that is open  to the public and used by 
administration staff.

He worries that participants in the program would use  public 
washrooms in the building to shoot up or discard  used needles on 
their way in or out of the health unit.

"We need to sit down and discuss this," Jamieson said.

Lynn said participants in the needle exchange program  must follow a 
code of conduct, which prohibits them  from carrying drugs with them. 
They can be arrested if  found to violate the agreement.

She turned down a suggestion that the program be run  out of the 
Walkerton hospital.

Coun. Larry Kraemer said while there isn't a perfect  place for such 
a program, it makes sense to have it at  the health unit with its 
trained staff. "If it causes  problems, we can deal with that," he said.

Leach said there's an estimated 300 injection drug  users in 
Grey-Bruce including steroid users. The  majority are located in Owen 
Sound and Hanover.

Leach said data shows there's an average 18 per cent  decline in HIV 
in cities that have needle exchange  programs while cities without 
such programs the  incidence of HIV increases by 8.1 per cent.

She said there's an important public education  component to the 
program. She noted that needle  exchange programs don't encourage the 
initiation of  injection drug use nor does it increase the duration 
or frequency of injection drug use and 95 per cent of  people who 
take part in a needle exchange stop risky  injection behaviours.

Leach said it's important not to stereotype injection  drug users as 
vagrants living on the street, which is  more common in big cities. 
Most are in their late 30s  and 40s. Some are students. Many manage 
to keep a job.

"We are studying where we can best create programs that  will target 
areas in the north and the south of the  region" said Leach.
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart