Pubdate: Thu, 19 May 2011 Source: Peterborough Examiner, The (CN ON) Copyright: 2011 Osprey Media Group Inc. Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/4VLGnvUl Website: http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2616 Author: Kennedy Gordon, Examiner Staff Writer PREVENTION USED TO TACKLE DRUG PROBLEM The development of the Peterborough Drug Strategy is moving along, representatives of several community agencies told county council Wednesday. Kerri Kightly, Peterborough Drug Strategy co-ordinator, led a delegation to council that she said highlighted the "four pillars" of the group's approach: prevention, harm reduction, enforcement and treatment. Peterborough city and county have higher-than-average rates of alcohol and drug abuse, with a significant opioid (OxyContin, Percocet, Dilaudid) problem, Kightly said. Only by working together can the problems be tackled. "We know that working separately is not working," she said. Prevention falls under the authority of the Peterborough County-City Health Unit, said Dr. Rosana Pellizzari, medical officer of health. "An ounce of prevention is a ton of work," she told councillors as she outlined how the health unit tackles the roots of addiction at an early age, focusing on health, social and economic factors. "Preventing poverty in itself is a powerful strategy in preventing poor health outcomes, including substance abuse," she said. "We know that 25% of Ontarians drink excessively," she said, adding it may fall to municipalities to look at ways to limit or prevent the sale of alcohol. Harm reduction is a planned approach to minimize the effect of drug use on addicts, said Kim Dolan of PARN. "We know that it's not always possible to say no to drugs," she said. Helping addicts access safe injecting sites, condoms, counselling and referrals is part of harm reduction, she told councillors. Peterborough County OPP Const. Gord Klingspohn said the enforcement side of things involves court diversion, enforcing the Liquor Licence Act and maintaining RIDE program spot checks. Lynn Sones-Barnes, a team leader at 4CAST, discussed programs the centre offers to help addicts beat their habits and enter recovery. These can include residential withdrawal programs,outpatient treatment, counselling and substitution therapy, such as methadone. The drafting of the Peterborough Drug Strategy is underway, Kightly said, with the goal of having a draft strategy by fall and a published version in January. "Has the doctor community bought into what you're doing?" asked Havelock-Belmont-Methuen Reeve Ron Gerow. Pellizzari said doctors are on board. "Certainly I'm hearing that physicians are not only concerned, but engaged," she said. Kightly said successes so far include a youth intervention project, a bigger web presence, an expanded steering committee and a successful medicine cabinet cleanout campaign that saw a lot of old medication properly discarded. The drug strategy team is putting the focus on opioids, prescription narcotic pills, Kightly said, because it's a growing problem. Cavan Monaghan Deputy Mayor Scott McFadden said he had recently overheard another patient at the dentist trying to get a prescription for narcotic painkillers. "Is there a way to ensure these people aren't just going from doctor to doctor until someone says yes?" he asked. Pellizzari told councillors the province is working on a computerized record-keeping system that would link information about narcotic prescriptions to avoid that. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.