Pubdate: Fri, 11 Jul 2014
Source: Mission City Record (CN BC)
Copyright: 2014 The Mission City Record
Contact:  http://www.missioncityrecord.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1305
Page) Author: Carol Aun

DISTRICT EYES LIFTING BAN ON NEEDLE EXCHANGES

A needle exchange ban may be lifted in Mission. - Record file
photo

Needle exchange facilities in Mission have been operating for years
despite a district bylaw prohibiting the activity. Now, Mission
council is considering lifting the five-year-old ban in order to
support harm-reduction strategies and protect the community's
vulnerable drug users.

Drug overdose rates in Mission are two times higher than the
provincial average, according to statistics from Fraser Health, and
the medical health officer for the Fraser East region hopes to reach
out and help more people by increasing needle exchange services.

The strategy was developed by Mission's Healthy Community Council with
input from numerous organizations, including Fraser House, Mission
Friendship Centre, and the Women's Resource Society of the Fraser Valley.

People don't grow up wanting to be drug addicts, Dr. Marcus Lem
explained.

"Everyone is a son or brother, sister or daughter to someone =C2=85 We al
l
have the same goals: We want a healthy, vibrant community, and part of
that is to be inclusive, respectful and look after folks who need to
be looked after."

Providing clean needles to those who are suffering from addictions
will decrease the transmission of blood-borne diseases and the rate of
mortalities associated with addictions and overdoses, said Lem.

Currently, Fraser Health offers a needle exchange at the Mission
Health Unit, and the Friendship Centre also operates a service with
funding from the BC Centre for Disease and Control.

Pharmacies that fill methadone prescriptions or any other opioid
substitution therapies available also have a supply of needles as
regulated by the provincial health act.

Lem knows there are mobile vehicles coming into the community to
provide the service as well, but noted Fraser Health doesn't have
control over these operations and he doesn't know where they're coming
from.

Last year the health unit handed out 21,700 syringes, but that doesn't
represent the number of people using the service, said Lem, who
explained people going in for a clean needle aren't required to give
their name or sign in.

"It's hard to gauge the demand at this point because there are
different groups operating in Mission," explained Lem. "After the
bylaw is repealed, we can work with our partner groups to standardize
services, get more control over things and get firmer numbers to
evaluate the situation."

Most councillors supported the memorandum of understanding for
managing harm-reduction distribution programs in Mission and were
prepared to adopt the first two readings to amend the bylaw on July
21. Coun. Dave Hensman was the only one opposed to the actions.

"We need to get (users) off it, not prolong it," said Hensman. "Harm
reduction is a great term, but the longer a person is on drugs, the
more damage they are doing to themselves and those around them."

"If we just hand out needles, it perpetuates the problem," added Coun.
Tony Luck. "What are you doing to help get these people off drugs?"

There are programs and detox beds available in the Fraser Health
region, but the purpose of harm reduction is to get people to access
services, said Lem, who believes by reaching out, clients will know
where to turn when they want to get clean.

Lem agreed dispensing needles through a mobile van isn't ideal. He
would like to see a peer distribution program established, where
former drug addicts are trained and educated to help get others off
drugs.

"(Peer distributors) know something we don't know," said Lem. "They
know where their peers are and can communicate with them in a way we
can't."

"There currently is needle exchange quietly taking place in this
community," said Mayor Ted Adlem. "From what I can gather, it's fairly
successful."

According to a district staff report, there have not been any "obvious
issues or complaints" related to the activity.

The report also noted that health services is regulated by the
province and suggested the district's bylaw could be found invalid if
it was ever challenged.

The public can have their say at a public hearing on Aug. 5 on the
proposed amendments to the zoning bylaw to allow methadone treatment
clinics and related facilities, including, but not limited to, needle
exchange programs for substance abuse and facilities, including mobile
dispensing vans.
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MAP posted-by: Matt