Pubdate: Fri, 07 Jun 2013 Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN) Copyright: 2013 The StarPhoenix Contact: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/letters.html Website: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/400 Author: Joe Couture SAFE INJECTION SITES NOT ON PROVINCE'S RADAR Some Backlash REGINA - Saskatchewan's chief medical health officer says safe injection sites aren't part of the government's HIV strategy, and therefore tough new federal rules about such sites won't affect the province. "We're very happy with how our strategy is proceeding," said Dr. Saqib Shahab, noting prevention, testing, treatment, harm reduction and integration with other services are part of the province's approach. Safe injection sites such as Vancouver's Insite are not on the list. With intravenous drug use and related new cases of HIV occurring throughout the province and not just in urban centres, the needs in Saskatchewan are different, Shahab said. While in other cities drug use might happen on the streets and sites can help get people off those streets, in Saskatchewan, such drug use tends to happen in homes, he said. The federal government has proposed legislation to require clinics applying for the same exemption granted to Insite to take into account the views of local law enforcement, municipal government and public health officials, according to the federal health minister, Leona Aglukkaq. The bill, the Respect for Communities Act, would also require applicants to meet numerous other criteria. Shahab said the changes won't affect Saskatchewan, noting the province has always worked to have a "very collaborative approach" with lots of community consultation regarding all types of services. What the province already would do is "well beyond what the act states," he said. While a need for safe injection sites in Saskatchewan hasn't been identified, Shahab acknowledged that consultations around such a facility might be more "thorough" than for other types of medical services due to the realities around mental health and addiction issues. "It is an important area that we are continually trying to address," he said, noting there is "a lot of depth and complexity" around such problems and working to address them in an "integrated fashion" is the "Saskatchewan way." But Ryan Meili, a Saskatoon doctor, former provincial NDP leadership candidate and author who has been active on issues related to HIV, said it's time to have a discussion about safe injection sites in the province. In site in Vancouver has shown that the sites can save lives and help people to get off drugs, Meili said. Intravenous drug use in Saskatchewan is "a very large problem" and something needs to be done about it, he added. "Are safe injection sites the right way to go? That, I think, is a discussion that we need to have and really hasn't been on the table at all from the provincial government," Meili said, noting a study by AIDS Saskatoon last summer indicated it was a service the at-risk population in the city thought was important. Whether the community would accept such a clinic is another question, he said, noting there has already been "backlash" against other efforts related to harm reduction, such as needle exchanges. Consultation would be important to educate citizens in general and determine if such a site would be a good fit, Meili added. A City of Saskatoon report late last year discussed harm reduction strategies in the city, and attached correspondence indicated some residents were concerned about the issue. An appended Saskatoon Health Region report also referenced Vancouver's experience with Insite. "Safe injection sites provide a physical site where harm reduction, clinical and social services can be easily situated to take advantage of the moment when (users) are willing to transition to treatment and abstinence from the drug use, so it is a key health promotion approach," the report said. - - With files from Postmedia News - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom