Pubdate: Wed, 25 Jun 2014 Source: St. Thomas Times-Journal (CN ON) Copyright: 2014 Sun Media Contact: http://www.stthomastimesjournal.com/letters Website: http://www.stthomastimesjournal.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/953 Author: Don Biggs Page: 3 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hr.htm (Harm Reduction) HEALTH UNIT PROVIDES FREE CRACK PIPES TO DRUG USERS For the past three weeks, Elgin St. Thomas Public Health has been quietly handing out free crack pipes to drug users as part of its Safer Inhalation Program. The initiative has garnered regional headlines in recent days but the health unit has been one of 14 provincial health units to provide this type of service prior to the Ministry of Health's announcement it will be fully funding these programs throughout Ontario beginning July 1. "Elgin St. Thomas has committed to safer inhalation products as a pilot project and now (with the ministry announcement) we will be adding it to our needle exchange program," said David Smith, Manger of Clinical Services at the health unit. By handing out sterile smoking products to drug users, the hope is to reduce blood-borne diseases. When taking a hit from a crack pipe, the end of the stem, or mouthpiece, gets very hot and could cause blisters on the lips. If sharing a pipe, users could be coming into contact with a stem that has traces of blood, which in turn can lead to HIV and hepatitis C. There are also some clinical findings that link drug inhalation to tuberculosis. Smith stated that crack pipe program embraces the health unit's harm reduction philosophy. "When we meet with a client, it is all confidential. We discuss where they're at in life and often refer them to other services. Often the public health unit is their only access to a health care professional. We are building that type of relationship with the client." Since the program's inception nearly three weeks ago, approximately a dozen St. Thomas residents have taken advantage of the free pipes initiative. Of these, said Smith, many are new clients to the health unit, most of whom would not access the needle exchange program since they don't inject drugs. "That is exactly what we want ... we want to broaden our reach and get users who might not inject but smoke drugs, coming to us," said Smith. When a client walks into the health unit at 1230 Talbot St., they are directed to the clinical services branch and a registered nurse, who is the only one who can provide the smoking apparatus to the user. All smoking inhalation equipment comes in packages containing five pipes, but Smith noted that the health unit is not handing out drug paraphernalia, as none are pre-assembled. The user must assemble the pipes themselves and only then can it be considered drug paraphernalia. "I am actually pleasantly surprised and proud that many residents in Elgin county understand the whole harm reduction philosophy," said Smith. "But you will always get some who say that this is a waste of taxpayers' money." However, he countered the burden of caring for someone with HIV or hepatitis C far outweighs the cost of providing safe inhalation equipment to clients. Smith also conceded local residents will inevitably complain should they find broken crack pipes littered throughout the city. "We've had some discussion about this and it's a historical problem," he advised. "You can go to any community in the province and find that same problem of dirty equipment being discarded, but we do encourage and provide individuals with safe containers for the used pipes that they bring back to the health unit." Finally, Smith said the clients themselves are both appreciative of the safe inhalation program and surprised the health unit actually offers the service. Once at the health unit, Smith said the drug users are directed to other healthcare services, which many have already taken advantage of in the past few weeks. "Anything that we can do to reduce possible harm is a positive step," said Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Franklin Warsh. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom