Pubdate: Tue, 04 Dec 2012
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Copyright: 2012 The StarPhoenix
Contact: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/letters.html
Website: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/400
Author: David Hutton

CITY CLARIFIES NEEDLE EXCHANGE ZONING

The City of Saskatoon will soon "clarify" the definition of medical 
clinics to include needle exchanges, with a report saying Saskatoon's 
harm reduction efforts are working to reduce the spread of HIV.

The report - tabled Monday with city council's executive committee - 
is a response to a vocal group of residents and business owners in 
Caswell Hill and Mayfair who spoke out against the 601 Outreach 
Centre needle exchange operated by AIDS Saskatoon earlier this year.

The AIDS Saskatoon needle exchange has operated for 3 1/2 years out 
of a nondescript building at 33rd Street and Avenue F. A number of 
nearby business owners say the needle exchange has residents and 
business owners fighting perceptions the area is unsafe.

Some residents and business owners took issue with activity 
surrounding the needle exchange building. Needle exchanges are better 
suited for medical clinics, not drop-in centres, they told councillors.

"It's attracting the drug trade," business owner Lori Prostebby told 
the committee.

The needle exchange has not increased crime in the area, a Saskatoon 
police report says.

There has been no evidence that "makes a direct connection between 
criminal activities in the area to the AIDS Saskatoon office, or the 
work they do, or the programs they provide for their clients," the report says.

Prostebby's concerns sparked a report from administration that 
examined where needle exchanges should be allowed to locate in 
Saskatoon. The definition of a "medical clinic" in the city's land 
use and zoning bylaw does not specifically mention needle exchanges, 
but the administration will undertake a review with the intention of 
re-writing the definition and clearing up the ambiguity.

The change will require council approval after public hearings next year.

Needle exchanges would be formally permitted in commercial areas such 
as strip malls where medical clinics are allowed, but would always 
reside with other health-care services.

The needle exchanges offer the only "point of contact" with formal 
health care for some members of the community, said Lynne Lacroix, 
manager of community development for the city.

"We'll be taking a look at what is already occurring in terms of 
where needle exchanges are already located," Lacroix said. "They are 
never a stand-alone facility. They provide education and counselling 
and a needle exchange is one component of what they do."

Although critics have long opposed giving clean needles to drug 
addicts on moral grounds, the consensus among public health experts - 
including the World Health Organization and the American Medical 
Association - is that the strategy works to reduce the spread of HIV.

Dr. Johnmark Opondo, the Saskatoon Health Region's deputy medical 
health officer, told the committee needle exchanges and other harm 
reduction efforts such as methadone clinics "must be located close to 
where people live and where other complementary services exist."

The number of new HIV infections has dropped alongside the annual 
number of needles found in the community, a report to the committee said.

"Needle exchange programs are one component of a suite of 
comprehensive health and social supports and need to be considered 
within a broader context of the work that is occurring within our 
community with respect to the issue of drug use and addressing the 
needs of intravenous drug users and other vulnerable populations on 
multiple fronts," the city report says.
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